The Madness of Jacob Black
by HelenT
Summary: Would fate do this to me? I'd already suffered through several levels of hell with Bella, and now I might have imprinted on a crazy person. Come on! How is that fair? Set halfway through Breaking Dawn A/U & Jacob/OC
1. Chapter 1

**TITLE**: The Madness of Jacob Black

**AUTHOR**: Helen Taft

**GENRES**: Action/Adventure/Romance

**PAIRING**: Jacob Black/OC

**SUMMARY**: Would fate do this to me? I'd already suffered through several levels of hell with Bella, and now I might have imprinted on a crazy person. Come on! How is that fair?

**PROLOGUE**

_The smoke was searing her throat and the scorched ground hurt her bare feet. She was naked, alone, and afraid. Where was she? How had she come to be there? She stumbled on the uneven ground, falling onto her hands and knees. She was tired and in pain. Every part of her was aching and throbbing. Was this really what it was like to be human? She searched her memory but it was fragmented, incomplete. She knew she'd been punished, but she didn't know why. She saw a face in her mind's eye. His expression made her shiver. He was in so much pain, far worse than what she was enduring. His cup of suffering was overflowing and it was unbearable to watch. Would no one help him? _

_By the time she stumbled over the lip of the crater that had been her pyre, she'd forgotten most of what she'd already thought. Her body was whole but her memory was slipping away like mist. By the end, all she retained was his tormented face, so young and sort of beautiful._

TEN HOURS EARLIER

Despite all my fears…okay, I'll admit my _loathing,_the basketball-sized bulge of Bella's belly turned out to be a baby and not some fanged demon with claws. Covered in her mother's blood, Renesmee cried and jerked her arms and legs, all the time squalling with a piercing cry that hurt my ears, and then she was in Blondie's arms and gone. I hardly noticed: all of my attention was on Bella. So was Edward's. Urgency in every move, he grabbed a syringe out of a drawer and moved to stand over the pale, still figure on the gurney.

"What the hell is that?" I asked, edgy, watching, worrying. She looked dead and gone already. I couldn't bear to look at her face in case I lost it and started phasing. Hot shivers were already jittering up my spine. The next few minutes were a blur of pain and hope and loss and grief. When it was over, when I gave up, I felt like an empty husk, and the only thing I could fill up on was a black, seething rage.

Big surprise, I went for the baby.

I was living my own personal hell and hurting so much I didn't give a damn about anything else. I didn't care what the leeches would do to me after I ripped it's head off. Hell, I planned to take out as many out as I could. It didn't matter that hours earlier I'd thought of them as friends. I didn't go for Edward first because I wanted him to pay for Bella's death by living it. I blamed _it_. I didn't see it as a baby anymore. I wanted to destroy it, wipe it from existence for breaking Bella from the inside out, and killing the girl I loved. I wanted its end to be by _my_doing. My head swam with hate and my body burned with it.

I got close enough, no problem. The leech caring for the killer was so wrapped up in the baby monster in her arms she didn't even sense me. I was a heartbeat away from phasing when Blondie lifted the baby up to her shoulder to burp her. Chocolate brown eyes in a tiny face looked straight into mine. I froze. Oh, crap. Bella's eyes. The baby had Bella's eyes. My heart stuttered in my chest. At the same moment I heard Edward's yell. I couldn't read minds like he could, but I didn't need to. Relief and celebration rang like a single bell in that one shout.

My belly rolled with guilt. Had I given up to soon? How could I have done that? I couldn't understand it. I listened and caught the heartbeat I'd been convinced had been extinguished. Bella was alive, at least alive enough to die the death that would save her. There was still a chance. I stumbled backwards, tottering back from my almost crouch, tripping over my own feet as I twisted round to dive for the door leading out to the hall again. I wanted, no _needed_, to see Bella for myself.

I didn't get the chance, not then. Howls rent the air, coming from the immediate area of the forest by the house. I was abruptly wrenched back to reality. Bella and her baby were alive, but the danger wasn't past. Sam's pack was here. They were attacking now. I swore, long and viciously and changed direction, heading for the door and the front porch. With the exception of Edward and Rosalie, the Cullen's were all there, already fighting alongside Leah and Seth. My heart did a one-eighty, swinging dizzily back to not wanting the Cullen's harmed. My pack, my friends, and those I loved were fighting for their lives. Like a match had been lit, rage reboiled to turn me into a living furnace. I phased as I leapt over Alice, showering her in ripped bits of clothing, smashing into Paul as he charged this smallest of the Cullen's. My weight and speed dislodged him and we rolled over and over with the underbrush churning up under our claws, jaws snapping and biting, into the encroaching forest.

I was completed crazed. I'd had enough. I couldn't take any more. I just wanted all this crap to end and I was willing to fight for it. I honestly didn't give a damn if I lived or died.

We smashed into a tree. I remember the ripping pain in my side at the impact. The tree groaned and shook, and bark and splinters flew like confetti as I sought to get purchase with my hind legs. It came with no warning. There was a blinding white light that seared into my eye sockets. I heard Alice yelling my name only to be cut off by an ear-splitting shriek that made my ears bleed. I was utterly paralysed, helpless to move. I couldn't even writhe in pain and I wasn't the only one. Then the images burst into life in my brain.

**CHAPTER ONE**

(15 days later)

Carlisle came to the door in answer to my knock. Two weeks wasn't a long time, but it was long enough for me to have become re-sensitised to leech-reek now I wasn't practically living with them. I'd visited a few times, but I never stayed long. The stench knocked me back on my heels for a second. I recovered as fast as possible, keeping my expression neutral by dint of effort. I didn't want to offend him. I considered Doc Cullen to be a good person, if not exactly a man, and the hell of it was I liked him. He wasn't a bloodsucker to me, at least not a human one in the literal sense. It made a huge difference.

His smile was gentle. "Hello, Jacob." He opened the door wider in welcome. "Please, come in."

"Thanks." I stepped inside, trying to filter my breathing, hoping he'd leave the door open to allow fresh air inside with us. Eight vampires lived in this huge, white house with its acres of glass, meaning even the fabric of the building reeked of them. The membranes of my nostrils felt on fire. I forced my lips to curve into a smile. "I stopped by for an update. Have you found out anymore?"

An avid gleam entered those topaz eyes, blazing out from a marble-white face. "About our mysterious saviour?" he asked, leading the way deeper inside.

"Yeah, unless you've got another mystery brewing I don't know about."

Carlisle's smile widened. "Nothing so intriguing," his shrug was relaxed, "unless you count a sudden spike in unseasonal flu?"

My quirked brow was sarcastic enough without the need for a verbal response. As a werewolf, I'm immune to sickness, so unless there's an epidemic I likely wouldn't hear or retain any news relating to flu. I fought vampires, not viruses, those I left to the doc.

Edward sauntered down the stairs and walked up behind us. "He means the creature that managed to simultaneously pin vampires and werewolves in place and play a home-movie in all our heads."

Carlisle played along. "Ah, that one. I might have a supposition or two."

I wasn't listening anymore. Carlisle might as well have not been there. I stiffened at the sound of _his_voice. Okay, so Bella was kicking if not alive, but I still hated the bloodsucker for stealing my future with her. If not for him, Bella would be mine and no matter how hard I tried to shove it aside, the knowledge was a constant burning pain in my gut. If I were fully human I'd swear I'd have an ulcer or two by now. I looked over my shoulder. His expression managed to simultaneously smirk and look morose. He was feeling guilty and I knew why. I was the only one of the three of us still stuck in our pathetic love triangle. Edward was too grateful to want to kill me anymore, and Bella was now a vampire and her feelings had changed along with her body. She didn't need me anymore. I was surplus to requirements, and even knowing that, I still wasn't able to move on. Yeah, I'm a total sap.

It infuriated me that my pain was so damned public. "Stop picking around my brain, leech." I glowered at him and his lips kicked up in a crooked smile. He shook his head, refusing to be drawn into a fight.

I wondered if a red-hot barbecue fork might break through that stone-cold skin of his. I was certain he'd react then. It would set fire to his clothes if nothing else. A diamond-tipped drill straight to that dead heart would get his attention too. I'd have to test it one day—soon.

He was right about the home-movie though. Identical images had flashed through our minds that night. All had been of Renesmee: showing her as a toddler, then as a beautiful little girl, and finally as an even more beautiful woman. Emotions had crowded in with those images, letting us in on a secret. Despite being a half-breed human and vampire, Renesmee would be a fun-loving, tender and compassionate person. She'd be a danger to no one. We weren't going to be allowed to kill her, or each other.

We got the message and stopped the fighting. No one, least of all Sam, wanted to screw around with an entity powerful enough to have done what was done that night. I happily agreed with that decision. The treaty was reinstated, no muss no fuss.

Since that night, Carlisle had been on a mission to find out what or who the entity/creature/thing was; I figured he wanted to thank it for saving his family, and the treaty. Every couple of days I dropped in for an update. Hey, I was curious too. It was also a reasonable excuse to see Bella and flagellate myself some more. _So_not a good idea, but I couldn't help myself.

Yes, I was still a masochistic idiot with a fixation on what I couldn't have. Cold turkey was beyond me. Leah could kick my butt from here to Wyoming and it wouldn't make a difference, and she frequently tried. Seth just whined at me dolefully. The constant sympathy, and/or butt-kicking was getting on my nerves. _I_was getting on my nerves.

"Edward, some civility, please," admonished Esme as we walked into the luxuriously appointed space they called a living room. She'd obviously heard us as we walked through the house. She smiled at me too, full of welcome. It still weirded me out how they seemed to like having me around.

Edward held up his hands and backed up, laughing low. "Show him what you've got," he suggested to Carlisle.

That snagged my interest. "You've got something new?"

The Cullen's lived well. They didn't shop in discount stores, no sir. Everything they owned was top-quality with money no object. At a polished thick glass table Carlisle turned the screen of a laptop so I could see what it showed. Even in human shape, my eyesight was supernaturally good. I didn't need to move closer, but I did anyway. There was a photograph showing.

"What is that?" I moved closer yet, staring at the screen. "Is that the crater in La Push?"

"Yes, Jacob, it is," Carlisle adjusted the resolution and zoomed out. "Tell me what you see."

I double and triple checked before committing myself to saying, "Looks like a pair of giant wings inked into the ground." I shook my head, marvelling, "Is that what all that burnt black stuff looked like from above. You couldn't make it out on the ground. The earth just looked scorched as if there'd been a forest fire or something."

"The area affected is so big you'd have to have an aerial view to make it out."

I grinned at him, not in the least surprised. "Is that what you did, went up in a plane?"

He didn't deny it. "I have copies of the photographs for you to take to the council. This is on your land so they should have all the information."

I reached out to take the large envelope he handed over to me. He'd been as prepared as ever. "They'll appreciate it. We don't have resources to get this done and the elders decided against bringing in the feds."

Edward folded himself in an armchair, saying, "Understandable, although I'm surprised they haven't come knocking anyway. There are stories in Forks that either an alien ship or a small asteroid has crashed into the reservation. The impact caused quite a stir in town."

I didn't bother looking over. "We know. Charlie's been talking to my dad about it. We've got it contained, no one except the packs are allowed near the site." I rolled my eyes. "The souvenir shop by the beach was selling alien merchandise to the tourists, trying to cash in. We had to step in and make the manager ditch the stuff. We don't need that kind of attention."

Carlisle leaned against the table. "Did you get any of the scorched ground analysed."

"Yep, we have a small lab on the reservation attached to the high school. They didn't find anything unusual. We've been over every inch of that site and found nothing but the burnt stuff and the crater. We still don't have a clue what caused it."

He looked disappointed. "That's a pity. I thought…" he trailed off with a sigh.

I'd never seen his cold, perfect features so full of animated, readable emotion. He'd never seemed more human. I couldn't help asking, "Why is this so important to you?"

There was a pause and then Edward answered for him. "Carlisle thinks this is the work of an angel."

Whatever I'd been expecting it wasn't that. I goggled at my nemesis, my jaw dropped. "A _what_?" I turned to Carlisle. "Why? Do they even exist?"

Carlisle straightened and looked me dead in the eye. "I believe so, although I have no proof, just my faith."

The simple statement blew my mind. "You're like…a believer?"

He smiled. "The cross in the hall is not just an affectation, Jacob. I once believed my life would be in the church. Being a vampire hasn't changed my beliefs."

"Wow. I didn't know." I didn't know what else to say and so I shut up: always a wise move.

Carlisle turned back to the screen. "What else could possibly have caused such a pattern? You yourself said the marks look like wings."

I scratched my chin, uncomfortable. "Ah, it'd have to be one big angel, Carlisle. The imprint of the wings or whatever it is, are over a mile long each. I'd lump this in with crop circles and forget about it. Maybe it was just a big bird, or the dinosaurs are marking a comeback." I smiled to show I was joking, but I was certain it was less out-there than his suggestion.

"And the crater?" asked Edward, out of interest.

"You said it yourself, lots of people saw a flash of light and a boom, and we all know there was a hellova a fire. Maybe we have a firebug with an itchy trigger finger. It's up to the cops to find out who set the charge. Neither pack found anything off and we've been thorough. Only humans and wildlife have been around there." I shrugged. "We're being vigilant, but I don't think this is connected to that night."

Edward didn't let it go. "Explosives leave a chemical residue, your lab tests would have picked up in it."

"It's a big crater. We didn't sample every speck of dirt." I wanted a change of topic. "Where's Bella and Ness?"

"Gone hunting," said Edward smoothly, no expression crossed his stone face.

My smile held no humour, only bitterness. "Let me guess, they impulsively decided to go hunting the moment you realised I was heading up the drive."

"Of course not," lied Edward, "Why would you think that? Bella loves you."

Not like she did, not since she became a leech like him. The thought was knee-jerk and agonising. Abruptly, I was furious with myself for coming here and putting myself through this _again_. I kept using any excuse to come here, but I saw her kid a lot more than I caught sight of Bella. She was avoiding me—for my own good, of course, weaning me off my addiction. I could hear the grind of my teeth as I clenched my jaw, reaching for a suddenly slippery control. "Fine," I gritted out. "Tell her I said hi." I turned to go, tossing a brief, "Thanks for the photographs" to Carlisle.

No one stopped me. Alice came in as I was passing through the door and pressed back against the wall to let me pass, she was perceptive as well as dainty, likely recognising I wasn't in the mood for chit-chat. She'd know the reason why too. Who the hell didn't know? It was common-freaking knowledge. Shame scalded me and I picked up my pace, fists clenched hard enough to crack some knuckles. I needed to get out of this house, off this land and out of my damned clothes. I needed to run.

I didn't go home. I drove the bike close to the beach, staying near the edges of the forest. I stripped so fast anyone watching might think my clothes were on fire. Not that anyone _was_ watching as I'd made sure. I wasn't that far gone, yet. I shoved the envelope, my leather jacket, clothes and shoes in the bike's rear compartment. The second I was free of restriction I phased, loping into the cover of the trees. Leah was waiting for me.

_Didn't I tell you not to go? Idiot! You never listen._

_Shut-up, Leah!_

I felt her irritated sigh in my mind._ Fine, I'll zip-it, but only because I know you won't listen in this mood. Go run it off. Do you want me to tell Billy you'll be gone for the day?_

She wasn't going to bug me. She wasn't going to nag and bitch at me! I was surprised and grateful. It took the sharp edge off my self-directed fury. I felt a spurt of warmth and let her feel it. _Thanks. Do that for me. I'll catch up with you later_.

_Feel free to take as long as you like. Pity parties bore me when they're not my own._

I raced, haunches quivering, flattening my ears to my head and lunging for speed. Leaves and undergrowth blurred under my paws. I clawed and sprinted and slid and rolled, using tree trunks as springboards to fly over fallen logs and gulley's like gashes in the earth. I didn't think about where I was going, I just ran.

When I came to the highway winding along the east side of La Push, I was fully intending to sail over it in one bound, only to smack into the side of an articulated truck. What the hell was that doing there! I landed on my back on the asphalt and had to roll over onto my belly, shaking my ringing head to clear it. The truck driver must have heard the bang of the collision and was braking hard. Crap! I had to get moving. _Get up!_ My legs tottered as I tried to obey my own command. I heard the blare of a car horn and jerked my muzzle round to see a tribal cop car was heading right for me. More brakes squealed as the cop driving the car tried an emergency stop, its rear-end fishtailing.

Still fuzzy-headed, I managed to get my back legs working and launched myself towards the thick underbrush lining the side of the road. I turned and looked inside the car as it drew level with me, almost at a stop now. There were two occupants. I recognised the cop by sight, but didn't know his name. There was a woman in the rear section. I caught a brief flash of hunched shoulders and a face hidden by a thick mass of long, wavy hair. I couldn't tell the colour and her face was obscured, but still my heart rate went into overdrive, like the damn thing was trying to hammer its way out of my chest. Dizziness swept over me as my spine heated up for no good reason. I had to force myself to take a deep breath.

Behind me, the truck driver gave a scared shout. Heart still pounding, I bounded into the cover of the forest.

I told myself I was just shaken and I'd hit my head, and that was all. There was nothing to worry about. Of course, that didn't explain why I didn't do the smart thing and head deeper into the forest. Instead, I crept around the trees until I could slink back to the road edge, keeping low and out of sight to look at the car again—and its occupants. The cop was out talking with the truck driver; they were shaking their heads and comparing notes about my massive size and their near miss. I didn't care and barely listened. The girl was behind the mesh and I could see her clearly from my new position, but her head was down, meaning I still couldn't see face. I could hear her heart and I had her scent. Instinct kicked in and I drew that scent deep into my lungs, muscles quivering as I committed every nuance to memory. I could find her now, or track her if necessary. Sweet, she smelled sweet and warm and amazing.

Who was she?

With human eyes I wouldn't have been able to make out her hair colour in the gloom, but with wolf eyes I could see the dark auburn colour. It was pretty and I desperately wanted to see her face. Come on! Look up, I willed. Look up. Look up. Look up! The cop was walking back to his squad car now, wanting to get on his way. Damn it! Would she ever look up?

I didn't take my eyes off her as the cop climbed in and slammed his door. She jolted at the sound and her head lifted slightly so I could see a softly round chin and straight nose. It wasn't enough I wanted to see her eyes. A whine escaped my throat before I could choke it off. As if she'd heard it, her head lifted higher and golden eyes tracked the edge of the forest, searching for something. Her face was white and pinched, filled with fear. It was like being hit by the truck all over again. My world spun and whirled, taking me with it. My breath locked in my lungs. When the car brake was released and it began to move off I felt unhinged, like I could fly off the handle at any moment. Anxiety ripped into me. Where was he taking her? It took every ounce of willpower not to lunge out of my hiding place and scare the cop into stopping again. I felt as if I'd explode if I didn't finish what I'd started. Whatever the hell that was!

What was going _on_?

I felt compelled to follow, I _literally_ had no choice. The compulsion was a hundred times stronger than Sam's alpha voice and it worried me, but not enough to turn back. Every step I took, I tried to figure out what was happening to me. The squad car was heading into Forks. Crap! It was still daylight and I couldn't follow them into town. Reason fled, I knew I'd be breaking every rule in the book if I went into Forks in my wolf form, but I seriously considered it. It was like I didn't care. I felt as if I literally didn't have a choice. It was completely nuts, but I _had_ to do it.

A familiar beep-beep and Seth shouting my name cut through the madness enough for me to slow and skid to a stop. We were on the edge of town and the forest was thinning. I whined as my eyes tracked the white SUV as it continued to cruise along the highway, heading for Fork's main street. Seth leapt off my bike and wheeled it towards me. I phased back to human right here, catching the pants Seth threw at me from the rear carrier.

I was too happy to see him to ream him out for riding my bike without a license. "How did you know?" I asked him. The anxiety was still a choking lump in my throat. They were getting away!

Seth grinned. "I was in wolf form too, just keeping quiet to give you some peace. Want me to follow the cop on foot and give you a chance to catch up."

I kept it simple as fell on my back and lifted up my pelvis to yank up my pants. "Yes," and added in a growl, "Don't lose them, Seth."

He took off with a final grin and I rolled to my feet and grabbed my shoes. Less than a minute later, I was back on my bike, decently dressed and unremarkable to the good townsfolk. The urgency balling in my gut was driving me nuts. Being human, I couldn't hear Seth in my head, meaning I had to find him the hard way. I wove in and out of the streets until I spotted him outside the police station. I didn't relax until I was dismounting and Seth jogged over with a self-congratulatory smile on his young face. "I didn't lose them," he crowed.

My relief was staggering. "Good job. Did he take her inside?"

Seth nodded, jerking a shoulder in a tight shrug. "She looked scared, man. I didn't like seeing her hauled inside. That cop is an asshole."

I was glad I missed it because my emotions were already strained. The jitters in my gut got demanding. I slapped Seth on the shoulder. "Thanks for the help, kid. Get yourself home."

He nodded happily, jogging backwards and tipping me a wink. "Good luck."

I scowled at him more out of habit than any real anger. My attention was on the station door. Charlie's blue and silver squad car was there, a stark contrast to the white SUV the reservation cop was driving.

I was here and she was inside. My feet felt glued to the ground. Was this it? Was I finally about to meet my destiny? A part of me was _not_ happy at the idea. In fact, that same part was yelling at me to turn around and avoid Forks for the foreseeable future. One thing kept me standing there staring at the squat building of Forks police station: I hadn't given Bella a thought since I'd spotted a stranger in the back of a cop car. The rage and pain that had sent me running for the forest was gone, pushed out by the agitation still thrumming in my veins and driving me with a single desire—find her.

It was pretty simple really. I was sick and tired of being the male version of Leah, the pathetic and tormented side of a love triangle broken apart by the remaining two. For once, admitting I'd lost Bella carried only a small sting and that had me breaking out in a sudden sweat. My heart kicked up a beat too. Wow. Big change. No, make that a _massive_ change, sort of like the axis of the planet shifting with no warning.

While I was standing there, the tribal cop came out and let the door slam shut behind him. He saw me and nodded. Seth's description of what he'd seen made it impossible to nod back. The heat came back into my spine, a warning of how unstable I was just then. There was a distinct tremor in my hands and my face felt set in stone as I watched him cross the tiny car park and climb back into his vehicle.

She'd been scared at being locked away in the back of the SUV, just as she'd been scared at being dragged into Forks police station. I didn't like it. I didn't know what she'd done to get picked up by a cop, but I still didn't like it.

My feet got me moving without any conscious direction from my brain. I climbed the steps and reached out to open the door. I'd been here hundreds of times with my dad. The familiar smells filled my nostrils as I walked inside: gun oil, coffee and apple Danishes with an undertone of peppermint chewing gum. Mollie Winnacker had been the despatcher here for as long as I could remember. Actually, her iron grey hair and round, lined face suggested a career spanning considerably longer than that. She knew me well and smiled when I approached her desk. I remembered how she used to pinch my cheeks when I was younger and sneak me bubble-gum. She was half my height now.

"I'm here to see Charlie," I said, big smile in place. When you're only a few inches shy of seven feet, you had to work up a harmless persona. It helped when people remembered you in diapers, sort of. "Is it okay if I go on back?"

She frowned. "Oh, well, he's kind of busy, Jacob."

She was going to refuse me, so I improvised. "It's about the girl the cop brought in. I just want to help."

Her brow cleared at once. "Oh, okay, in that case go right ahead. Charlie's talking with her now."

"Cool. Thanks."

I walked fast before she could change her mind. I could hear _her_ heart already, its rhythm was fast and hard, and I wished mine would quit trying to crack my ribs. Charlie's voice was a gentle murmur, asking one question after another. I walked around the solid line of grey file cabinets that acted as an impromptu room separator and saw Charlie Swan, Bella's dad and Chief of Police. He wasn't alone. Fresh sweat popped out on my forehead. Intense curiosity wrestled with self-preservation. I was still half inclined to leave without risking a single look.

Charlie was leaning against the metal desk and talking to the bent head of the girl seated in the chair in front of him. He must have seen me in his peripheral vision because he turned his head to look at me. So did she.

Golden eyes met mine. Every single muscle in my body went tight.

The bottom dropped out of my stomach, sending my head whirling. My world tilted all over again and it took a concerted effort not to fall to my knees, or worse, my ass. I saw her in a way I'd never seen another girl, I saw her _completely_. Not even Bella had grabbed me by the throat so fast. Everything else disappeared. It was like my brain took a snapshot in super high definition, never to be forgotten. Her skin was delicate and fine as a baby's with rosy lips that were perfect for the pure oval of her face. Auburn hair so dark it looked mahogany in the evening light cascaded down her shoulders and halfway to her waist. She was barefoot and wearing a blanket wrapped around her body. My head was so messed up I didn't even wonder at her bizarre wardrobe choice. I did notice the fear shadowing her eyes and face.

I would do anything possible to get rid of that fear.

Charlie was talking, but I was too busy staring to make sense of the buzz his words sounded like to me. So much for super-wolf senses: I didn't realise he'd gotten up until he waved a hand in front of my face.

"Hey, Jake. Come on, kid, wake up." I blinked and dragged my eyes away from molten gold. Charlie's expression registered confusion. "Do you know this girl?" he asked me.

That gave me the idea. The big smile got trotted out again. "Sure, Charlie, she's a friend of mine. I came as soon as I heard she was here."

"Oh." I'd taken him by surprise. "That was pretty damned quick, Jake, she only just got here." He shifted aside so she wouldn't see him tapping his temple and lowered his voice. "I have to ask—is she sick? I've asked over and over and she either can't, or won't tell me who she is or where she's from." He frowned. "Actually, she's making no sense at all."

Once upon a time I'd been a really bad liar, but after a year of keeping secret the fact I'm a werewolf, and a ton of other freaky facts, I didn't hesitate. "Her name's Anna. She's visiting the Cullen's. I've run into her a few times there. She's nice, a bit strange, but okay." I scratched my head, pretending to be innocently baffled. "I don't know why she was brought in—it has to be some kind of misunderstanding."

Charlie's frown deepened. "Is she a relative of theirs?"

I nodded, happy to let my lies mushroom. "Anna's a distant cousin of Esme. Hey, do you want me to take her over there? Save you the trouble."

Charlie gave me a look I recognised. He crossed his arms over his chest, making it clear I'd tripped up somewhere. He didn't keep me in suspense. "If she's related to, and staying with, the Cullen's why was she squatting in a derelict barn on La Push? One of the Tribal Police found her and brought her to me since she obviously isn't Quileute."

Chocolate brown eyes, the same as Bella's—used to be—stared at me with just a hint of suspicion. I hurried to allay it. "Okay, here's the deal. She _is_ a _little_ mentally-challenged, sort of child-like which is why she's staying with Doctor Cullen. She plays games like a kid. It was probably something innocent like hide-and-seek and the tribal cop just over-reacted. They're probably searching for her. I really should get her back to them."

Charlie didn't budge, thinking it over, and then he reached past me and picked up the phone perched on the desk, saying, "I'll call Doc Cullen, see if he wants her brought to the hospital or taken back to the house."

If he was expecting me to panic at this point, he was going to be disappointed. I knew it had been a risk, but it was a calculated one. Okay, I was making a big assumption about Carlisle's quickness of mind, but I had faith. Just to stack things in my favour I said, "Tell him I'm here too: he'll relax knowing she's with someone she knows. Being around strangers can make her act weird."

Charlie pulled a face. "That might explain a few things."

I felt a dash of pride at my skills of deception when he finally nodded and finished dialling. All I could do now was wait and see if my gamble paid off. I hoped Carlisle backed me up. I couldn't see myself overpowering my dad's best friend to make off with his suspect.

So far I've avoided looking at her, afraid Charlie would definitely think something was off if I fell into some bizarro trance again. Now I shot her a glance, wanting to see how she was reacting to my sudden appearance and claim of friendship.

She'd been staring at the floor, but at the touch of my gaze on her face she lifted her eyes and stared back. My belly tightened but I managed to retain motor control and my sense of reality—a big relief from my point of view. She was beautiful, a real jaw-dropper. I tried a smile and watched her eyes drop to my lips. Instantly they tingled like she'd touched them. Whoa. Self-preservation had me returning my attention to Charlie who was now talking to Carlisle.

"Hey Carlisle. Look, I'm sorry to interrupt your day, but I have a small problem here at the station. Do you have a distant cousin of your wife's staying with you, a girl called Anna?"

I stiffened, mentally cringing and looked down at the toes of my sneakers. Crunch time.

"No, there's no problem. Jacob's here too. He says a girl found in La Push is a visitor of yours. She was brought in for trespassing by a tribal cop."

He paused while Carlisle talked, then replied, "Don't worry about it. I'll smooth things over with the reservation police. They won't want to press charges since it's just a misunderstanding. It's not like she did any damage. I'll send Jacob over with Anna now. Sure, that's great. No problem."

He dropped the receiver back in its cradle and lifted his hands. "Okay, problem solved. She's all yours. He wants you to take her over to the clinic for a check-over, says he doesn't want Esme worried."

In my head, I high-fived the three-hundred year-old vampire. My smile was genuine this time. "Great. I'll take her straight over. Thanks, Charlie."

"You're welcome. Tell the Cullen's to keep a better eye on her will you? I don't want her hurt if she wanders off."

"I will."

He left me alone with her, totally accepting that I had a right to take responsibility for her. I took in a breath, puffing out my cheeks before exhaling and then steeled myself to look at her. I'd been expecting anything from anger to terror. I was surprised to meet a steady gaze that was no longer afraid, but curious, and oddly relieved.

"Is my name really Anna?" she asked me. Her voice was soft and feminine and totally without an accent. The hairs on my forearms rose up.

"Don't you know?" I asked just as softly.

She shook her head and her solemn expressed never changed. "No, but I know your name, Jacob Black." She tilted her head, "I'm glad your pain is less now. It's been hard to watch in my dreams."

That really rocked me back on my toes. I now understood what Charlie meant about her not talking sense. Great. Maybe she _was_ crazy.

TBC

**Author Note (1)**: I'm fairly new to Twilight, so please excuse any errors. I love the books and the movies, and Jacob Black is the character who has won my fickle, fannish heart.

As much as I like the books though, I have a few problems with Breaking Dawn. I don't like Jacob imprinting on Bella's baby and I don't like how imprinting was described in that book. I particularly don't like that, having imprinted, Jacob now no longer feels a connection to his father, his pack or anyone other than the baby. His heart is too big to be so narrow-minded (or should that be hearted?). I also don't like the insinuation that Jacob only loved and sacrificed so much for Bella because she would one day get pregnant with his imprintee (blech). Did Quil get a love-fest on with Claire's mother and we don't find out—I don't think so. To my mind this reduces what they've all suffered, particularly Jacob, to something quite ridiculous.

I've been writing for eleven years now in a variety of fandoms and original fiction. From a Twilight perspective, I've come to the point where I want to see/read/imagine Jacob with his own special (adult) person, who can naturally release him from his love for Bella, without diminishing what came before. Hence this fic.

The imprinting will be a tiny bit tweaked in this, but only a tiny bit. This change will however have a few ramifications for a short period. I hope this is okay- and I hope whoever is reading this will enjoy the journey.

Feedback would be hugely welcome. I'd love to know your thoughts. Thanks with virtual cookies. :-)


	2. Chapter 2

**TITLE**: The Madness of Jacob Black

**CHAPTER TWO**

**AUTHOR**: Helen Taft

**GENRES**: Action/Adventure/Romance

**PAIRING**: Jacob Black/OC

**SUMMARY**: Would fate do this to me? I'd already suffered through several levels of hell with Bella, and now I might have imprinted on a crazy person. Come on! How is that fair?

**DISCLAIMER: The Twilight saga belongs to Stephanie Meyer, as do all the characters. I'm just playing a little while. There is no infringement intended and no profit made.**

**CHAPTER TWO**

The police station was not a good place to start asking questions. I needed to get her out of there before Charlie got nosy, or suspicious. "Chief Swan could still change his mind." I warned, holding out a hand. "We should get going while the going's good."

She looked at my hand and then lifted her eyes to search my face. The pause seemed to stretch before she answered, "All right," and put her hand in mine.

I hadn't expected it to be so easy. I pulled her up and in a graceful and fluid motion, she got to her bare feet. The blanket slipped off her shoulders, revealing a cotton dress that was so tight on her I wondered how she could even breathe. No way was it hers.

Then she was standing in front of me and I forgot about being suspicious. A grin spread over my face. "Nice. You're tall for a girl." The top of her head came up to my collarbone meaning she had to be close to six feet in height. Her hair was thick and glossy, rippled with curls and waves. This close, I could see the fine texture of her skin; like cream silk or something. She was tall enough that I wouldn't have to bend down much to kiss her. The urge to push my luck and try it was sudden and nearly overpowering.

I resisted because I didn't want her breaking her hand hitting my face. Been there, done that.

She tilted her head back to look up into my face with a frown pulling at her brows. "Am I very tall for a woman?" She looked me up and down. "I'm not taller than you."

Her scent was making my mouth water. I had to clear my throat to speak. "No, not many are around here," I replied, although it would have been more accurate to say 'not a single one' as I was now taller than Sam. I shrugged. "I'm pretty tall, even for a guy."

The ringing of the station desk phone reminded me that we were supposed to be making good our escape. I hadn't let go of her hand and used that hold to tug her along with me back to the front desk. Her hand felt small and delicate in my big one and I had to consciously keep my grip gentle. Charlie was nowhere in sight. I remembered to nod my thanks to Mollie while holding open the door for my destiny-on-two-legs. It was a good description. All right, I was being snide, but it was a decent reality check. My libido retreated enough for my brain to function again. My brows drew together in a frown. I still wasn't sure how I felt about having done the dirty deed and imprinted. She was outright beautiful, seriously hot, but she was still a _stranger._ The connection I had with her was instinctive and physical, but my mind hadn't caught up yet. The reminder of just how much my life would change _again_ with me having little choice _again_ darkened my mood.

Hey, at least you still have a brain! I couldn't argue with that one and I wondered why. How come I wasn't all puppy-love and unhealthily dependent? If I was supposed to be on cloud nine then I must have got off on the wrong cloud. Had something gone wrong with the imprinting?

How the hell was I supposed to know? I was an imprint virgin. Sam and Quil and the others gave up some of the details—they couldn't help it, but not a blow-by-blow account.

Maybe I should ask? Sh'yeah, when hell froze over would I admit to the others that I might have got imprinting wrong. I had to be cursed or something, it was the only explanation.

"Is there a problem?" she asked, pulling me out of my thoughts. In the waning light, I could see her eyes were a light, warm hazel with lighter striations that made them seem luminous, all framed by lashes that were thick and black and covered in big, fat raindrops.

Raindrops? I looked up to the sky and felt the patter of them on my face.

I hadn't even noticed it was raining. Yeesh, talk about oblivious. I shook my head, shoving the thoughts aside for another time. I flicked her an apologetic glance from under lowered brows. She'd been getting wet while I'd been brooding. "I'm good. Just got a distracted for a moment." I nodded across the lot. "My bike's over there."

Her bare feet had to be cold on the wet cement steps. Without asking, I picked her up with one arm around her back and the other under her knees and started jogging over to my bike. Her arm automatically curled around my neck. I looked down at her face and found it serene, as if she got carted around a parking lot by strange men every day. I didn't like it, or the fact that she wasn't freaking out at all, it grated on my nerves. More, I resented it. "Just so I know. Do you let total strangers abduct you a lot?" I hardly recognised the hard, sarcastic voice as my own. "Kind of risky isn't it?"

She went stiff. Then her face turned to look into mine. Whatever she saw there had her arm dropping from my neck as if my skin burned her. She pulled away from me, or tried to, so not a clever idea considering her position. A fire lit in those golden eyes. "This was your idea, not mine. Besides, how is being taken to see a human doctor a case for being abducted?"

My brows lowered even further. "You said human doctor? Why the distinction."

She had to think about it. "I don't know. I just did. Does it matter?" She shoved a hand against my chest, wriggling and trying to force me to put her down. "Put me down. I can walk."

Oh, great, now she was objecting and getting feisty. She sounded afraid and agitated and that made my chest clutch. What the hell was I thinking? I was handling this all wrong. I tightened me grip. "Don't be stupid. You'll get wet feet and this is gravel, it'll hurt. Just keep still, we're nearly there."

The set of her shoulders didn't relax and her face was set and stiff. "You don't have to take me anywhere if it bothers you so much. I can find the place where I'm expected."

"I'm not bothered." That was so obviously a lie I had to backtrack, "Not with you, anyway." It wasn't strictly true, but at the same time I didn't blame her really. It was a wolf thing. I finished tersely. "And I'm not leaving you." I shook my head, spattering raindrops. "Look, just forget what I said. I was out of line and I'm sorry. "

Before the werewolf gig, and my love life went to hell, I'd been a happy, easy-going normal teen who would never have spoken to a pretty girl so rudely. Sometimes, I seriously missed him. Now was one of those times.

We reached the bike in silence and I lowered her directly to the saddle with her legs astride. I tried not to notice that the cotton dress she had on under the blanket rose up past her knees. I failed. She had fantastic legs. My stupid saliva glands got overexcited again.

"Are you taking me to see this doctor friend?" she asked me, breaking the tense silence.

"I'd be a good idea, in case Charlie—that's Chief Swan, decides to check up on us. Why, do you have somewhere else you want to go?" Did she live around here after all, was she visiting with family? Friends?

She shook her head. "No, I'd like to see a doctor. I think I probably need one?"

My angst level racketed up a notch at that. "Why, are you feeling sick?" I demanded.

Until then, she'd been avoiding looking at me directly, that changed now and the intensity of that golden gaze struck me as otherworldly. "I don't think so, but I can't be sure," she told me flatly. "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I'm too tired and confused to play games. There has to be _something_wrong with me because I can't remember anything further than the last week." She threw up her hands in a helpless gesture. "I don't have a clue what my name is or where I come from. If I have a home, I don't know where it is. I can't even picture my own face, but I recognised yours, and I knew you're name. And that's why I agreed to leave with you."

The rain got heavier, battering the ground around us. I was too shocked to notice. Just like that, she'd laid it all out. All I could so was stare at her sitting there perched on my bike with her head defiantly thrown back, using blunt honesty like a club. She _was _tired, I could see the dark circles under her eyes and her skin was pale. I believed her. I wondered if she'd been just as blunt with Charlie and that's why he'd thought she was nuts?

"I didn't know why you did leave with me, which is why I opening my big mouth." If she could be honest then so could I. I stepped closer, resisting the impulse to pull her into a hug. She looked so frail and yet so grim, she made me feel stupidly over-protective. Hell, I wanted more than a hug. I wanted to lift her off the bike and find out just how well she'd fit against me when our bodies were flush together. "Let me take you to get checked over and we'll see what happens from there. You're not alone anymore." I risked running a hand over the hair draping her right cheek. "You can trust me." It was a promise.

"I'd like to…" She gave a convulsive shiver as the steady downpour soaked her, "but I think I should check first _why_ you're helping me, Jacob?"

"Because I have to—I literally have no other choice." It was like stripping naked, this putting-everything-on-the-line deal. I did it because she already had, and I wanted her trust more than anything. I pulled a face. "Look, I know it's going to sound weird, but I sort of recognised you too. Not the details, like a photograph or anything, but I saw you and…knew. That's the best way I can explain it."

She frowned, mulling over my words. "You're saying you feel a connection to me?"

Was there any point in hiding it? I figured not. "Yes."

"But you don't recognise me?"

"No, I've never seen you before today."

She closed her eyes, disappointment clouding her face. After a moment she said, "I'm grateful for your help, but before I agree to accept more I need you to agree to two conditions and they're non-negotiable." She didn't wait for me to ask what they were. Her eyes opened. "I'm asking you to never lie to me, and that you will tell me if I'm turning out to be a burden and you want me to go. Do you accept them?"

The no lying condition made me grimace. "I have a few secrets that I can't share straight away, but instead of lying, I'll just tell you to butt out if that makes you feel better. As for the other," I shrugged and felt a wry smile tug my lips. "It won't happen, trust me."

Her slow nod of acceptance unknotted my belly. I took in a slow, relieved breath that expanded my chest and then asked, "Have you ever rode pillion on a motorcycle?"

It was her turn to grimace. "If I have, I don't remember it."

"Right. Amnesia, got it." I hunkered down, grasping one foot and guided it to the rear foot peg. I kept my tone soft and non-threatening. "Keep your feet on these pegs. Whatever you do don't let them near the ground. I'll be going at a sensible speed because I don't have a helmet for you, but you could still do some damage if you're not careful."

"I'll be careful."

I waited, stubborn but patient, until she looked at me. "I'll be in front and you'll have to hold onto my waist."

Her watchful expression didn't change. "You mean I must wrap my arms around you from behind?"

"Yep, and grip tight. You won't hurt me." Rising upright again, I unhooked the blanket and took it off her before she realised what I was doing, saying, "You can't keep this on because it'll catch in the back wheel and drag you under. Not a nice way to go."

With the blanket gone, she hunched her shoulders and wrapped her arms tight around her body. I shrugged out of my jacket and draped it over her shoulders. Damn, the dress was way too small and showed all too clearly the shape of her body. I was having a really hard time not staring. My hands shook as I grasped her arms, pulled them away from her tight clasp enough to feed them into the still warm sleeves. "Put this on. It'll keep you warm." For the second time in five minutes I didn't recognise my own voice, it had gone all deep and husky.

She looked at my chest, covered by a black t-shirt. "What about you. Won't you be cold?"

"Cold doesn't bother me much." Stepping over the bike's fuel tank I shifted back into position, reaching behind me to pull her closer. "Remember, hold tight."

The moment she did, I started the engine and took off.

It was only a short ride to Fork's small hospital. Carlisle was expecting us and we were sent straight back to a private examination room. I followed on her heels, feeling anxious all over again. I liked Carlisle; he was relatively human for a bloodsucker. He'd also just helped me get Anna out of the clutches of the law, without even asking why. I was duty bound to come in and explain. Plus, Anna wanted to be looked at anyway. Memory loss was nothing to sneer at. She needed medical attention. I just hoped she didn't take one look at the doctor's blonde, movie-star looks and fall head over heels in love.

Been there, done that, and wrote the freaking book. The t-shirt was on order too.

Paranoid much? I asked myself. The answer to that would be a, 'hell yeah'.

It was too late for second thoughts. Carlisle opened the door to the private exam room himself. I met his curious gaze and resigned myself to enduring the next few hours. His yellow eyes fell on Anna and he smiled his reassuring, I'm-here-to-help smile. She smiled tentatively back, and it annoyed me that I felt a pang because she hadn't smiled at me yet.

"Jacob," he greeted me, stepping back out of the doorway in a mute invitation to enter. "I had a call from Chief Swan, earlier."

"Yeah, I was there in the room with him when he made it." I gently pushed Anna into the room before me. "So was she."

He cocked his head, assessing her in ways no human doctor could, not without x-rays and scanners and super-computers. "This is my wife's distant cousin? Is that correct?"

I grinned. "In the figurative sense, as in I lied, yeah."

Carlisle patted the exam table, saying to Anna, "Why don't you sit here and I'll check you over while Jacob explains."

She climbed up with that remarkable dancers grace, sitting perched on the edge with the blanket wrapped around her. She watched curiously as he put a pressure cuff on her right bicep and started to inflate it.

Rather than loom over them, I leaned back against the institutional-beige painted wall and crossed my arms. "I'd love to explain, but I don't know much more than you do. One of the La Push cops found her in a derelict barn and took her to Charlie. I turned up and pretended to know her through you. Oh, and she's got no memory of who she is. That's pretty much it as far as I know."

I didn't mention her claim to have had dreams about me—who knew it could be some genuine, freaky imprintee thing I'd never heard before. I wouldn't mind. It would nice to know it was a two-sided deal.

"Interesting story." Carlisle aimed a piercing look at me that I easily returned, and then turned to Anna, lifting her chin with one hand to shine a thin beam of light into her eyes. His voice was a murmur when he asked, "Is it true you can't remember who you are?"

She blinked furiously at the intrusive light. "Yes, it's true. I wondered if I was ill. That would explain it wouldn't it?"

Carlisle made notation in a clipboard and conceded, "There are several conditions that can affect memory, yes."

"Are they curable?"

I waited tensely for Carlisle's answer. "It depends on the condition," he replied cautiously. "Do you have any pains in your head? Do you feel sick or dizzy at all? Have you fainted recently or had a fall?"

Her brow furrowed as she put some thought into her answer. "My head doesn't hurt. It ached when I first woke up, but that was many days ago. I can't tell you if I've fallen because I can't remember that far back. I was sick for the first few days, but then it mostly passed. I'm just hungry and cold now."

"I see. Can you tell me what is the very first thing you do remember?"

She didn't have to think about it. "I was naked and alone in the woods. I didn't know what was happening and I was so cold and so scared. I didn't know what to do or where to go. That's the first thing I remember."

"I see. How long ago was this do you think?"

She tilted her head in the way she had when she was thinking, "A while. I've been cold for a long time, days and days. I've counted twelve night-times, but I'm certain they weren't the first. The first few days are hazy and I can't tell them apart."

"I see." Carlisle frowned. "When was the last time you ate?"

"A few days ago. I haven't been able to find much food by myself. I tried some berries but then I got sick, so I gave up. I found a house and, even knowing it was wrong, I stole some bread. I think that was the day before last."

"I'm sure whoever the homeowners were they wouldn't have begrudged you a loaf of bread. As for the berries, some are beneficial and some not so. It's a case of correctly identifying which is which." Carlisle pulled down her eyelids, looking for whatever doctors look at eyelids to find. "Have you been drinking water?"

"Yes, water is no problem. There's lots of it here."

Carlisle popped a thermometer in her mouth and used the time it took to register her body temperature to write some more on the clipboard. After a moment, he asked, "Do you mind if I examine your head for lumps or bumps?"

"No, not if it will help."

Carlisle stepped up with a reassuring smile and began to gently examine her head while she sat still and watchful. She looked ready to bolt like a startled doe if anything happened she didn't like. It made me edgy too. She'd been through a really tough time. Did she think I'd let anything else happen to her?

'Course, it could be out of my hands. Jeez. I hoped she wasn't really sick. My gut churned just thinking about the possibility.

She looked past Carlisle and over to me and I tried my best to look relaxed. "You called me Anna before," she said.

"Yeah, I made it up so I could pretend to know you."

"I know that," she frowned. "Can I use it until I remember my own, or is that wrong?"

"I don't see why you can't use it for now," said Carlisle. He'd finished his exam and was writing the results on his clipboard. "Personally, I think Anna is a nice name."

I agreed, "Sure, there's nothing wrong with using it. I've been thinking of you that way since I met you."

I stared pointedly at Carlisle. He got the message. "There are no obvious lumps or contusions and her pupil responses and temperature are normal. I'll want to do some other tests, though."

I didn't want to wait. If there was something wrong I wanted to know. "When?"

"I can do them tonight if you're willing?" Carlisle said to Anna.

"What would these tests involve?" she asked warily.

"A scan of your brain and some blood tests. All very simple, I promise you."

"And will you be able to give me an answer tonight?"

"A preliminary answer, yes. The scan will help me rule out a physiological condition such as injury or tumours. I'll need a more detailed study to rule out the less obvious possibilities. The blood tests will give me an idea of your general health, and rule out a chemical issue."

Anna nodded. "All right, do your tests. Thank you."

"Good. I'll leave you two for a moment and go and set them up. I won't be long."

Once Carlisle disappeared through the door, I quirked an amused brow and said, "He thinks you might've been doing drugs."

She looked utterly blank. "I'm sorry, I don't know what that means. Is it bad?"

"Never mind, you don't look like a user." I pushed away from the wall and approached her. "I can't believe you've been wandering around the forest without proper food or water for over twelve days. I wish I'd known."

"How could you have known?" she asked, genuinely curious.

I could have picked up her scent. But, of course, she smelled like a human, so there'd be no reason for my wolf-self to track her. Plus, there were boatloads of tourists milling around every damned day. More since the crater appeared.

I avoided answering rather than lie. "You're lucky the cop found you."

Carlisle came back in then. Anna wasn't thrilled with the syringe or the scanner. She gripped my hand tight through both ordeals. When Carlisle announced the end of the tests, I got my first smile and my heart flip-flopped in my chest. The sap strikes again. I didn't mind. I felt like _me_ again.

~0~

There were no fractures, signs of concussion or tumours. Anna was malnourished and weak because of it and that had to be addressed as a matter of priority.

I promised I'd see to it. Carlisle gave me a questioning look, clearly wondering why I was going to so much trouble. I didn't bother enlightening him that much.

While I'd been getting some nutrition bars for Anna from the waiting-room vending machine, I used the payphone to call my dad.

"_Hello."_

"Dad, it's me."

"_Jake. Leah said you'd be gone for the day. Are you alright, son?"_

"I'm fine…I think." I paused, screwing up my eyes, debating if I should tell him over the phone or wait until I got there. In the end, it seemed stupid to wait. "Dad, I imprinted on someone."

"_Jacob!"_ He sounded shocked—no surprise there. _"Are you sure? Is it anyone I know?"_

"Yeah, I'm sure, and no, you don't know her. She's not from La Push. I'll explain later. She needs somewhere to stay and I don't know where to take her with Rachel still at home. Any ideas?"

There was a pause while Billy processed the information that my soul-mate wasn't Quileute or even Makah. His voice was quieter when he said, _"How about Emily's place? She and Sam aren't getting married until next month. It might be good to be around someone who can explain things to her."_

I didn't agree with the explaining side of things, but now wasn't the time to get into it. "Makes sense, I guess. Can you check with Emily and let me know when I get back. I'll come home first."

"_I'll ring her now. Bring her straight here."_

"Will do. See you soon."

I'd expected a problem persuading Anna to agree to come back to La Push with me, but in the end I got it right: I said please. Carlisle earned my gratitude by backing me up. The fifteen miles between Forks and La Push was soon eaten up by the big bike. I'd barely turned the engine off before my dad was pulling open the door to our house.

I dismounted by sweeping my leg over handlebars and then turned to lift Anna off the bike too. She was wearing my jacket and a pair of sneakers Carlisle had managed to rummage up. I kept my hand on the small of her back as we walked up the path to the door. I knew it was a quasi-possessive gesture, but I couldn't help it.

Billy smiled in greeting. "Welcome. Come on in." His eyes tracked over to my face, "I sent your sister and Paul to visit the Clearwater's so we won't be disturbed."

"Good idea." Paul, my ex-pack mate and soon to be brother-in-law was a pain in the ass. Aggravating me was first on his top-ten-things-to-do-daily list. "Did you manage to speak to Emily?" I asked.

Billy went first, nimble in his chair. Anna followed and I came last and closed the door behind us. Billy said over his shoulder, "I did, and she's happy to offer a bed, but I'd like to meet her myself first."

With the three of use crowded into the tiny living room, I took the hint. "Anna, this is my dad, Billy Black. Dad, this is Anna."

Billy held out a hand for her to shake, a big smile creasing his face. "It's good to meet you, Anna." He slid me a glance. "Jacob's been in need of you for a while now."

_Whoa_. I jumped in before he could say more. "Hey, dad, Anna hasn't eaten for a while. I'm going to fix her a plate and then we can talk." I pulled a face, making it clear I wanted the talk to be a private one.

Billy got the message. "Okay, Jake. Emily and Sam are coming over to say their hello's beforehand. They should be here soon."

Fine. I'd have to talk quick. "Good, they can keep her company while we talk."

Anna's face wore that eerily serene expression again, except this time I could see the skittishness and nerves in her golden eyes when she looked at me. It hit me then, she wasn't calm at all, it was a cover to hide how scared and uneasy she was feeling. Everything was strange and alien to Anna right now, including herself. How nightmarish must that be? I felt even guiltier for the way I'd acted. Impulsively, I cupped one cheek in my left hand and rubbed the soft skin with my thumb. "Carlisle said to take it easy for a few days. Rest on the couch and eat while I talk to my dad, okay? I won't be long."

She didn't pull away, but leaned into my hand, taking the comfort I was offering. I left her with Billy to pick a TV channel for her to watch and went to the refrigerator. With Rachel home there was a much better variety of food available than the usual male staples. I grabbed some fruit and cheese and bread and piled them on plate, adding a tall glass of milk on a tray. When I came back into the living room, Anna was sitting with her knees up on the sagging couch cushions, absorbed by the crappy sitcom showing on the fuzzy screen.

You'd think she'd never seen a TV before she was so totally fascinated. I pulled the tiny coffee table over and placed the tray on it. I had to wave my hand before her face to snare her attention. When she looked at me, scowling at the interruption, I jerked my thumb to indicate the food on the table and grinned when she pounced on the plate, the TV forgotten.

Billy was already waiting for me in my room. I shut the door behind me and he asked, "What's going on, Jacob?"

Where the hell did I start? "I first saw Anna sitting in the back of a cop cruiser on the east highway. She doesn't know that because I was in wolf form. I followed her into Forks."

"Why? What made you follow her?"

"Why do you think? I didn't have a choice, I _had_ to. The moment I set eyes on her that was it for me." I sighed and scrubbed a hand over my face, scraping the bristles on my upper lip and jaw. "What bugs me is I haven't felt right since. Paul, Quil and Sam, they're all juiced up on the happy and I'm not. I can't get settled. I don't get it. What's wrong?"

Billy echoed my sigh. "I don't know, Jake, but I'm not surprised. She isn't Quileute or even Makah. She knows nothing about our history and there's a risk she may not want to stick around once she knows the whole truth. This is bound to cause you some agitation if you've imprinted, because there's no guarantee she'll accept you. Even Sam struggled at first and Emily is half Quileute."

I hadn't even considered that fact. Bella was white too and no one had warned me, but then I hadn't been able to imprint on Bella no matter how often I'd tried. "Has one of us never imprinted on an outsider before."

"I remember hearing a few stories about an ancestor who imprinted on an outsider. I don't recall the details, but there were problems. Old Quil will know more. It's rare, though, Jake. I won't kid otherwise."

Great. The freak that was me was acting outside the norm as per freaking usual. I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Nice. That's just what I didn't want to hear."

"I'll ask Old Quil," Billy patted my arm. "Don't worry about it for now. It's not like you can take it back. Imprinting is imprinting. She's meant for you and you're meant for her. You'll work it out."

I heard the knock on the front door and grimaced at my father. Emily and Sam had arrived. My time was running out. "I don't want imprinting mentioned to Anna. She's got some kind of amnesia. She can't remember a thing about herself and she's been living wild for the last couple of weeks here on the reservation. It's a tough time for her and I don't want to add any more complications right now."

Billy's jaw dropped at this latest revelation. "For crying out loud, Jake!" Whatever he'd been about to say, he stopped. He closed his eyes and then shook his head in resignation. "You don't like to lead an easy life do you? First Bella Swan and now this…"

I _really_ didn't like the comparison. My jaw clenched. "Leave it, dad."

The yells and sound of crashing from the living room electrified us both. After one sick heartbeat, I unfroze and leapt for the door, shouting, "Anna!" I reached the end of the corridor and burst into the living room. Billy wasn't far behind me, wheelchair or not.

Three figures seemed to be locked together in a weird dance between the kitchen and front door. Anna was falling backwards, held up by the hand of Emily's she was still clasping. A frantic Sam was trying to separate those same hands. Wailing, Emily was holding her free hand up to her face, clutching the ruined side as if she was in agony.

Sam got them separated and Anna crumpled to the floor. I lunged across the room and caught her head in my hands before it could connect with the cracked linoleum. Still on her feet, Emily was whimpering and clutching her face. Sam was trying to prise her hand away to find out what was wrong. I'd landed on my front in my rush to protect Anna. I stared up at them, unable to move with my muscles locked in shock. When Sam finally managed to pull Emily's hand away from her face I thought I was hallucinating.

Emily's scars were gone. Her face was perfect.

I'd barely got over that shock when Anna suddenly let out a shriek and her back lifted off the floor in a painful arch so vicious I was terrified of hearing her spine snap. Her next scream seemed to go on forever. Every hair on my body stood on end.

TBC

**Thank you so much for the feedback left on the first chapter. I really appreciate you taking the time to offer me encouragement for this first Twilight fic. I hope you enjoyed this chapter too and, as ever, I'd love to hear your thoughts.**


	3. Chapter 3

**TITLE**: The Madness of Jacob Black

**CHAPTER THREE**

**AUTHOR**: Helen Taft

**GENRES**: Action/Adventure/Romance

**PAIRING**: Jacob Black/OC

**SUMMARY**: Would fate do this to me? I'd already suffered through several levels of hell with Bella, and now I might have imprinted on a crazy person. Come on! How is that fair?

**DISCLAIMER: The Twilight saga belongs to Stephanie Meyer, as do all the characters. I'm just playing a little while. There is no infringement intended and no profit made.**

**CHAPTER THREE**

I'd never heard a scream like it in my life: it sounded ripped from her throat. Anna's shoulders were half lifted off the floor. I called her name and moved up to her hip. I didn't know what was wrong or what the hell to do to help. I couldn't sit back and do nothing, though. I tried to gently ease her down with the flat of my hand on her belly. It worked too well: her back slapped the floor and the scream choked off, along with her breathing. Her eyes rolled back in her head until only white was showing.

Panic froze me. Was she dying? My recently changed world axis shifted again, tipping me straight into a nightmare. I didn't have a clue what to do. Was this some weird fit?

I heard Sam say in a strained voice, "She's not breathing, Jacob!"

_I fricking know!_ I ignored them all, concentrating on Anna. The damned dress was too tight. Desperate enough to try anything, I ripped the thin fabric with my hands, all the way down the bodice and on to the seam at the waist. Nothing changed. The panic clawed and squirmed in my gut. I couldn't do mouth-to-mouth because she'd inhaled and then stopped breathing—her lungs were full. I almost shook her. "Damn it—Anna, exhale. Breathe!" My throat felt on fire as the panic spread. I'd only just met her. I'd imprinted only _hours _ago. How could this be happening!

Billy shouted, "Jake, push her chest down; get the air out that way!"

I followed his advice. Air wheezed out from between her lips and then nothing else happened for two beats. I was about ready to rethink mouth-to-mouth when her eyes rolled back and she come to, gasping and coughing.

With my left arm under her shoulders I lifted her up, supporting her. My relief was so staggering I wanted to crush her to me. I couldn't remember ever being so scared. I was shaking in reaction. I sat right there on the floor and scooped her up into my lap, resting her head in the curve of my shoulder, and then buried my face in her hair to whisper. "What the hell happened, Anna?"

"Jacob," she breathed my name against my neck, making me shiver at the wash of warm air over sensitive skin. Instead of answering, she gripped a fistful of my t-shirt, curling even more definitely into me with a barely audible moan. That was all the invitation I needed to wrap both arms around her. She was shaking a lot more than I was.

"What happened?" I repeated, this time over Anna's head, speaking to Sam and Emily. My gaze locked on Emily's face, shocked again to see her scar-free. They really were gone. Sam had her pulled firmly into his arms too and his strained expression was probably matched by mine.

It made my belly quiver to realise I had a girl of my own now—finally, one hand-picked by fate. The idea settled more easily in my mind, I was getting used to it. I just hoped fate knew what it was doing this time.

"We knocked and she let us inside. We wanted to be friendly. Emily introduced us and held out her hand." Sam shook his head, his fierce-featured face pale and frowning. "I'm not sure what happened after that. Everything happened very quickly."

Emily took over from Sam. "When she took my hand I felt such a strange pain. It was like my face and my arm were being pricked with a thousand needles all at the same time." She touched her face with questing fingers. "The pain came only where I'm scarred." Her dark eyes were glassy with shock. "I can't feel them anymore. Why?"

"Take a look in the mirror," I suggested.

"How is she?" asked Sam, nodding at Anna.

I looked down, thankful my jacket kept her decently covered. The dress had been tight enough that the sides hadn't draped open when I'd ripped the bodice open. She was as pale as a ghost, but her gaze was aware. She was still shaking. Actually, I realised with a frown, she was shaking harder and her jaw was clenched to stop her teeth shattering.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

She was as stiff as a board. "I'm-m fre-ee-zing, Jac-ob." Her voice was a slurred stutter. Her cheek was like ice under my hand when I checked. I wasn't the only one panicking. Her eyes were almost wheeling in her skull with fear and confusion. It hit me then, she didn't know what was happening either. In her place, I'd be scared out of my mind too.

Her shivering turned almost violent and her muscles went rigid, then lax, then rigid again in a recognisable cycle. You don't grow up on the edge of the wettest state in the country without learning how to recognise hypothermia, and that's what this looked like. What the hell!

I got to my feet, easily hefting her in my arms. I bypassed Billy on my way to the privacy of my room. "Get Carlisle," I tossed over my shoulder just before disappearing through the door into the tiny corridor beyond.

"Jacob, what's going on?" The slurring of her speech scared the crap out of me.

I shouldered open the door and placed her on my bed. "Shush. I'm going to warm you up, but I have strip us both."

"W-why?" She watched me sweep my t-shirt up and then over my head to drop it on the floor.

My boots joined the t-shirt and I unsnapped and pushed my jeans down my thighs. The good thing with stripping on a regular basis is you get immune to embarrassment. "Body heat. I'm hot, you're cold, together we'll manage warm."

Her eyes were huge in her pale, pinched face. Her shivers were convulsive now. "O-kay."

Once I was done, I tugged my jacket off her, and swiftly stripped away the rest of the dress. I tried not to notice the details of what she looked like mostly naked, and picked up the duvet I'd left on the floor. The bed was a single, not even big enough for me to sprawl out on, but I pulled her half under me and wrapped us both up in the navy cotton-covered duvet. She was a shivering block of ice all along my left side. I wrapped my arms around her, entangling our legs and pushed her face once again into the curve of my shoulder. She could breathe fine, but the rest of her was swaddled in the duvet and me.

While she quaked and shuddered I kept her locked to my heat. Her hands were like frozen birds trembling on my flanks. Eventually, the shakes became shivers and finally, after a few minutes, the break between the tremors got longer. I didn't mind, there was a lot to say for just being able to hold someone. It felt like a lifetime since I'd been able to do that. I hadn't even realised how much I missed it. I'd once been an affectionate kid, always touching the people that mattered to me.

She mattered to me.

"Are you feeling better?" I asked, rubbing slow circles into her back. The stiffness in her muscles was gone, leaving her relaxed and boneless in my arms.

She nodded, and then cracked a yawn that made me chuckle. She tilted her head back and I met dazed, sleepy golden eyes. "Thanks for helping me again, Jacob."

I quirked a brow. "That's all right. It's a habit I don't mind keeping." I finger-combed thick, dark red hair out of her face, enjoying the excuse to touch her some more, and aimed for gentle and non-threatening, when I asked softly, "What's going on Anna?"

I recognised frustration as it tightened her face, but it couldn't dislodge the exhaustion. "I honestly don't know. I was going to ask you the same thing"

I sighed. "Damn. I was afraid you were going to say that."

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"I know," I said, closing my eyes. Goosebumps rose on my skin as her words caused her breath to feather my bare chest.

"So what did happen? Why did it hurt to touch your friend?"

"You don't remember?"

She rolled her eyes. "My attention was otherwise engaged."

Right. "You healed Emily. She used to have really deep scars on her face and arm, but now they're gone."

Anna frowned and tipped back her head so she could see my face. "Can other people do things like that?"

"No," I qualified my answer further, "not like you did it. Doctors can help, but it takes months of surgery and healing. You did in an instant. It was pretty cool, actually," I finished lightly.

"Oh," her face fell. "I was hoping it was normal."

I didn't plan it, because, hello, not a great position to be in when you need to resist temptation, but I couldn't help myself: she looked so unhappy. I lowered my head and brushed my lips over hers, seeking permission. I felt rather than heard my own groan when she opened her mouth and kissed me.

I sank into that kiss like a starving man, and yeah, my toes curled. Wow. And that was the most tepid part of my reaction. Thanks to werewolf super-senses, I could hear her heartbeat pick up and start beating a rapid tattoo, and smell the rise of heat on her skin so that her scent wrapped around me. Everything about her called to me. Jeez, as if I needed _more_ reasons to keep kissing her. She was every bit as wrapped up in the kiss as I was, and I needed that reassurance more than I'd ever dreamed.

_I_ made her heartbeat faster, not someone else. As for what she did for mine…halleluiah. I think even my blood sizzled. I was a micro-second away from losing my head completely when the knock came.

I didn't know whether to relieved or furious. If Anna hadn't been so utterly clueless about men, she might have already smacked my face and leapt out of the bed. She'd have been right to do so. As it was, she had both arms around my neck, happy for more kissing. She was a teenage boy's fantasy all wrapped up in a mystery. I was already hooked.

"Jacob," called out Sam's voice when I didn't answer.

"We're fine," I called back. "Anna's better. Is Carlisle on the way?"

"Yes, I've sent Paul off to warn the others that Carlisle has permission to enter our land."

"Good idea." I grimaced. Damn, I was slipping. I should have thought of that. "We'll be out in a minute."

I looked at Anna, all rumpled hair and pink-cheeks now, and kissed the tip of her nose, and then those full, rosy lips for a final time with definite regret. "Feel like going back out to reassure everyone you haven't turned into a popsicle?"

"If I must." She nearly cracked her jaw on another huge yawn. Her eyes were slumberous now, almost molten. Our making-out had heated her up just as effectively as my body heat.

I grinned. "Okay, shut your eyes."

She blinked at me. "Why?"

Good question, and one I wasn't going to answer, or demonstrate. Knowing Anna, she'd ask what it was. I was surprised she hadn't already. I made my voice firm. "Just because."

"All right," she slid her eyes shut and sank back into the mattress as I disentangled the duvet from my legs and rolled off the bed.

It took me a moment to spot the jeans I'd kicked under the bed. "Don't open them until I say so."

"I don't plan on opening them until I have to," she mumbled. She was already drifting off.

I didn't know if I should let her sleep. "You don't think you could have a concussion do you?" I pulled on the jeans and hurriedly fastened the snap, locating and dragging on a longer t-shirt to hide the lingering evidence. "You can look now."

"Doctor Cullen said I didn't." She managed to crack open one eye. "Did that man say he's coming here?"

"Yep, I asked them to get a hold of him. I was worried sick about you."

"Sorry," she repeated. "What are you doing?" she queried when I started rummaging through drawers.

"Finding you something to wear since I wrecked your dress." I looked back at her and pulled a face. "Where did you get it anyway, it was practically sprayed on."

"I found it hanging up outside a house. I wanted to not be naked anymore. I didn't care about comfort."

"Makes sense." I pulled out a white cotton shirt and a pair of denim jeans that I'd outgrown over a year ago and forgotten to throw out. "These should be okay and I have a belt you can use for the jeans. You'll have to roll up the legs, though."

Gusting out a sigh, Anna dragged herself up to a sitting position, and held out a hand for the clothes. "Should I be asking you to close _your_ eyes?"

I smiled. "You should, but you don't have to. I'll turn my back." I suited actions to words. "No more fits or mysterious attacks of hypothermia though, okay?"

She slid me a wry look. "I'll give it my best shot."

"That's all I ask. Yell if you need me to help."

~0~

Anna looked much better in my old clothes than the dress. The white shirt was tucked in and the belt just about kept the jeans on her hips. Her feet were back in the sneakers under the rolled jeans cuffs. There was definite colour riding those cheekbones and her hair was a mass of dark fire tumbling around her shoulders and back. She took my breath away. I took her hand and led the way back to the living room. Billy, Sam and Emily looked relieved to see her.

"You look a little peaky, Anna." Billy patted the arm of the couch. "Come and sit with Jake on the couch. Doctor Cullen won't be long."

Billy saw our clasped hands and flicked his gaze up to mine. I saw approval there and wondered at it. He'd changed his tune.

"I'm fine now," said Anna, adding innocently, "Jacob is a very hot person."

"Better safe than sorry," added Sam. There was an intensity in his eyes I recognised as bone-deep gratitude. Anna had healed both Emily's and his pain due to those scars. I knew his psyche, Sam would be bursting to return the favour. He was in Anna's debt.

I wanted to keep her close. "The couch is a good idea. Come on, let's grab some seats before the others get here and we're stuck with the floor." Once we were seated on the sagging cushions, Billy handed me a throw and I tucked it around us both, keeping my body curved for her to rest against with my left arm around her shoulders.

I wasn't far off about the timing. I smelled leech and Leah, Seth, Quil and Embry before the knock came on the door. They'd accompanied Carlisle here, making sure he wasn't messed with. Sam went to let them in. Only Carlisle and Leah came inside.

Curiosity, suspicion and wariness were clear on Leah's face. I understood. After suffering being part of Sam's pack for months, she'd be worried how imprinting would affect me as her alpha. I smiled at her grimly. She'd get over it. Those dark eyes flickered at my seeing so much, and scowling she turned her attention to Emily, only to stare in shock at the unmarred skin of her cousin.

Carlisle didn't waste any time. He came straight to Anna, assessing her colour and alertness.

He got out his pen-light again, saying, "Billy said Anna was having a fit," he said to me with that odd bell-like ring of his bloodsucker voice. "Tell me what happened."

I watched him check Anna's pupil responses again. "We came home," I said. "We don't have room here for her to stay, so I asked my dad to see if Emily could put Anna up until I could work something out. I gave her some food and was talking to my dad when Emily and Sam arrived. We heard yelling and screaming and came running in here."

Carlisle stuck a thermometer in her mouth. "What did you find?"

I told him what had happened with Emily and Anna and Sam. With helpful additions from the others; between us we gave him a detailed description of all that had gone on. Anna just listened, submitting to the doc's examination, taking it all in. She'd been too far gone to know much detail herself. I told him about the hypothermia bit and what I'd done to fix it.

"What do you think it means?" asked Billy, concerned.

"I'm not sure," Carlisle confessed. "I did scans and x-rays at the hospital, they all appear fine, as do the blood tests I did. I've just rechecked her temperature and pupil responses and both are fine. I can find no evidence of injury or virus. She could be an epileptic, but that wouldn't explain the amnesia."

"In other words, you're clueless?" I said, frustrated and annoyed.

He ignored me. "Her ability to heal is a power I've never even _heard_ of before, never mind come across. She's human so such an ability must take an enormous toll on her body. I would suggest that the recent episode is related to that rather than an illness. Her system suffered a tremendous shock and reacted accordingly."

"That makes sense," said Billy, nodding his head. "It all happened after she'd healed Emily's scars."

Carlisle looked over at Sam. "Would you let me examine Emily's skin?"

"I don't mind," said Emily, jumping in. Sam nodded, visibly reluctant.

Emily took a seat next to Anna on her other side from me with a shy smile and pulled up her sleeve so the doctor could examine her smooth hand and forearm. Carlisle lifted her arm, looking closely and seeing a lot more than any human doctor could do. He did the same to the left side of her face. When he'd finished, he said with a smile, "I'm impressed. The skin is perfect. I can detect no flaw or evidence of their having ever been any injury, never mind heavy scarring." He turned to Anna and inclined his head. "You have a wonderful gift. I envy you."

"Don't," Anna returned dryly. "It wasn't a barrel of laughs, believe me." She held a hand out to Emily, "Can we try this again, just to see what happens?"

Sam and I both tried to object, but Anna and Emily didn't wait. They clasped hands and we all held our breaths. Nothing. Three heavy beats past without any sign of…anything.

"I think I'm already healed," said Emily with a grin.

"Perhaps she healed someone really sick, even dying, and the power it took wiped her memory," suggested Billy. He was on the ball tonight. I was glad someone was.

"Wouldn't they know she'd healed them and help her, though. How could anyone leave her alone to suffer?" Emily was clearly outraged at the idea.

"Ms Young has a point," said Carlisle. "From what you've said, Anna has to be physically present to heal someone. I would expect them to notice her and try to help. Not leave her naked and alone in the forest."

"People can be evil" stated Leah, speaking for the first time.

"They're easy to spot though," said Anna. "I'd hope to have more sense."

"How are they easy to spot?" I asked, confused.

Anna didn't answer straight away. Six faces were looking at her expectantly. I could see fresh fear in her eyes. Jeez, what now! I squeezed her arm. "What's wrong?"

With a sigh she asked a question of her own. "Is it usual to be able to see people's souls as well as they're bodies?"

"No, that definitely isn't normal," I answered, feeling a little numb. No freaking way…

I'd already spotted the bombshell, but it didn't make it any less shocking when she said, "I can. I can see your soul; I can see all your souls. I can tell good people and bad people apart. I don't understand this, why am I so different from you?"

Carlisle reached over and patted her knee. "We'll work it out. Don't worry." He turned to me. "I have a suggestion for you both to consider."

"What?" I asked, suspicious.

"Alice has more than the ability to see possible futures, she also has a gift for hypnosis. Anna may know more than her subconscious is letting her remember. Hypnosis is one way of accessing that information."

"You want me to take Anna to your place so Alice and perform some leech mojo on her. Is that right?"

Leah snorted, amused at my choice of words. Carlisle just nodded. "You know we would never—"

I cut him off. "I know that, but what about Bella, she's a newborn?"

"Bella was born a vampire with outstanding self-control. In the weeks since, she has become even more so. I can faithfully promise you that Bella will not attack Anna."

"I want to do it," said Anna. "I trust you."

I slid her annoyed look for taking the decision out of my hands and she said pointedly, "I need to know who I am, Jacob, and if hypnosis, whatever it is, can help me, then I want to try. I can't live forever in a fog."

~0~

Carlisle drove his car back and I followed in my Rabbit with Anna in the passenger seat. Leah and Seth both phased and would rendezvous with us at the Cullen house. When we pulled up at the familiar white and glass house, I parked on the drive and got out to open Anna's door. I stopped her from moving to the house, waiting to see Leah and Seth move out of the surrounding woods, still in wolf-shape. Seth yipped an encouragement and Leah bumped her shoulder to his to shut him up. I was damned glad they were there.

When I turned back to Anna, she was staring at the house with a puzzled frown on her face. "Are you okay?" I asked.

She started at my voice, coming out of her mini trance. "Yes, I'm fine."

Carlisle held the glass entrance door open and Esme was standing at his side. They made a beautiful couple with identical kind topaz eyes and an equal welcome. I nodded at Esme as we climbed the steps onto the wrap-around porch. "Sorry to be interrupting your night."

"We don't mind at all. We're very happy to help." She smiled at Anna. "Welcome, dear. I'm Esme Cullen and I'm so glad to meet you."

Anna stopped and stared. "Thanks. Wow. You have a lovely soul."

Esme blinked and glanced questioning at Carlisle before saying hesitantly, "Thank you. I'm sorry, I'm confused. You can _see_ my soul?"

There was a pause. "Am I being weird again?" Anna asked me, sotto-voice.

"Just a little bit. It's okay, I'm getting used it."

"It's a long story," I said, herding Anna through the door. "And we're hoping Alice can fill in some of the blanks."

"So Carlisle told us. Alice is waiting for you in the top floor library with the rest of the family," said Esme. "We'll show you the way."

Carlisle gave his wife a one-armed hug, murmuring, "I told you you still have a soul." Then smiled and gestured for us to follow him up the stairs.

I did wonder if Bella would be there, but sort of absently. I'd lost my craving to see her. I was more worried about Edward. He'd already have read my mind and most likely Anna's too. That pissed me off. I didn't want him in her head when I couldn't go there.

"What's the matter?" asked Anna, squeezing my hand.

I shot her a surprised look. How the hell had she caught my change of mood? "Nothing important. How did you know?"

"Emotions are not just reflected in your face and body language, which can be disguised, but in your soul, which can't. I know your soul, Jacob, and it just darkened—which means you're feeling angry or defensive."

I was a bit of one and a lot of the other. I pulled a face, not pleased. "Great, between you and Edward Cullen I'll never have any privacy. Talk about an open book."

"I'm sorry," she said stiffly. "Would you rather I'd lied?"

"No, it's fine." We arrived at the top floor and entered the massive library area. The last time I'd been in here, Bella had been pregnant. Now she stood in all her pale glory next to her husband, Edward Cullen. Emmet and Rosalie were taking up a loveseat together with Renesmee on Blondie's lap. Jasper stood behind the armchair where Alice Cullen's was sitting.

When Nessie saw me she bounded of her aunt's lap and raced over towards me with her arms open wide. I let go of Anna's hand to catch the kid and swing her up in the air. "Jeez, Ness you get bigger every time I see you." I supported her on one arm, grinning into her perfect face. "Did you catching anything today?"

She let out her bottom lip. "Yes, but I'd rather you'd gone with us. It's more fun with you there too."

I ruffled her hair. "Sorry, Chuckles, I was busy doing other stuff."

Soft hands clasped my face and chocolate brown eyes stared solemnly into mine. "Mommy said you were upset. Were you?"

"I was sorry to miss you," I hedged, dropping her back to her mary-jane shoes.

I met Bella's red gaze head on. "Bella."

She scowled. "I wish you'd stop calling her Ness, Jacob. Her name is Renesmee. Remember, Ren-es-mee."

"So you keep saying," My grin softened the message. "This is Anna. An-na."

Bella kept it simple with a guarded, "hey."

Edward came forward with his face wreathed in a smile and one elegant hand outstretched. "Hello, Anna. I'm Edward Cullen, and this is my wife, Bella. We're very glad to meet you."

Anna shook his hand. "Back at you. Wow, you're like ice. Are all your family so cold?" She'd had the same reaction to Carlisle at the hospital. I smirked, pleased.

Edward's smile turned into a grin. "Anyone would be next to Jacob."

"True."

Rosalie looked as stony-faced as usual whenever I was around. Emmett seemed merely interested. Alice came over next, as bouncy as an Energiser Bunny. "Hey, I'm Alice, and I'll be your subconscious excavator today." She was all but rubbing her hands together in anticipation. "So, when do you want to get started?"

"Erm, now." Anna looked as flattened as most people did when first meeting Alice Cullen. "I don't see any reason to wait. Do you?" She looked at me for an opinion. I shrugged a 'whatever'.

Carlisle patted a leather armchair. "Anna, why don't you sit here and get comfortable. The rest of the family, barring Alice and myself, will be leaving now."

"Would anyone like any refreshments before we go," offered Esme. "Perhaps, Leah and Seth outside might be hungry?"

Anna looked interested and then shook her head. "I'd rather get this out the way first, perhaps later."

"We're fine," I said. "Leah and Seth have already eaten, so they'll be good for now too. Thanks anyway."

As Carlisle had said, the others drifted out of the room. I wasn't sorry to see them go. Five less vampires in the room reduced the stink a _lot_. Bella gave me a long, searching look just before she followed the others down the corridor. Behind me, Alice snared Anna's hand and pulled her over to the chair. "Come on. I'm impatient to get started. I haven't done a hypnotism for decades."

"You're always impatient," Carlisle told her. "No matter what it is you want to do."

Alice ignored that, probably because she couldn't deny it, and pulled a desk chair over to sit facing Anna. I took up a station nearby, popping a shoulder against one of the shelf-covered walls.

A tiny recorder was placed on the console table by Anna. "This is just in case we need to revisit anything pertinent afterwards," said Carlisle. "Is that all right with you, Anna?"

Anna shrugged. "I don't mind."

Alice bounced in her chair, living up to her impatient reputation. "Okay, we're ready to rock. This is going to be really easy, I promise. Now, Anna, I want you to look into my eyes and listen very carefully to my voice, all right?"

"Okay."

Anna took her literally and stared straight into Alice's topaz eyes. I watched Anna, only partly listening as the session began. I wanted to spot any problem the moment it began and stop this if it became necessary.

"Anna. You're in a very comfortable and safe place. I want you to relax. I want you to go as limp as if you're boneless. Relax every single muscle in your body right now. Good. You'll be in a dream-like state by the time I count to five. One-two-three-four-five."

Anna sank into the chair with her eyes sliding shut. If it'd been anyone other than Alice I'd be surprised at how quick she'd gone under. Carlisle hadn't been kidding that his adopted daughter was good at this stuff. Great, something else to worry about.

"Are you comfortable, Anna?" asked Alice.

"Yes." The reply was breathy and insubstantial.

"Great. We'll begin. Anna, I want you to remember your last home. Where did you live before you came to Forks? Give me a name or a location. Can you do that for me?"

"No," said Anna. She shook her head, eyes still closed. "No memory. No home, there was nothing before here."

"All right. Can you remember your _first_ home? Where were you born?"

"The woods. I was naked in the woods. So many trees, so much dirt and wet. I'm cold."

"No, Anna, that can't be where you were born. Think back, Anna. Dig deeper. Do it now."

Anna shook her head violently. "I can't. It's impossible."

"Yes, you can," cajoled Alice. "La Push forest is not your first memory. You were alive before then. Think back. Remember."

"I remember Jacob's face."

Alice looked over at me, confusion clear. "Are you saying Jacob's face is your first memory?"

Anna continued as if Alice hadn't spoken. "He's in pain and his suffering makes me suffer. I hurt just watching and I can't stand it. Someone has to help him." I stiffened. She even _sounded_ in pain.

Alice sent me a quelling look, stopping me from interrupting. She spoke firmly, "I'm confused, Anna. Help me to understand. When did you see Jacob? Was it in the forest before he found you?"

"No, it's just a dream. In my dreams, I dream of this house too. I recognised it. This is where Jacob suffers the most."

That was a shocker. Alice asked, "When have you seen this house, Anna?"

Anna frowned and repeated herself. "In my dreams."

"Okay. Let's try this another way. What else happens in the dreams involving this house?"

"I don't like to think about it." Anna's tone was more of a snap. Her face contorted with the intensity of her emotions. "There's pain and death, and then more pain, and the nightmare goes on and on in an endless cycle that sends out ripples of even more pain. I hate seeing it. I'm afraid for Jacob. His life, everything that matters, is lost to him now. I can't stand knowing what it'll do to him. I wish I could stop it."

Alice locked eyes with Carlisle, clearly freaked. They weren't the only ones. I was struck dumb. Alice continued, "In the dream, what could you have done to stop it?"

"I can't remember." She keened, a high plaintive sound. "There's fire, the ground is burning and hurting me. I'm singing, but nobody is listening. I'm cut off—alone."

The three of us jumped when Anna started singing. For the second time in one day, she caused every tiny hair on my body to stand on end. She had a hauntingly beautiful voice. I couldn't understand any of the words, but it didn't matter. I was gripped, hooked by the lilting sounds. Her hands were lifted with the palms up, pleading for something. She was mesmerising. Jeez, I couldn't look away from her and I wanted her to never stop singing.

I didn't see where he came from. One minute, he wasn't there and the next he was standing behind Anna. He reached out a hand and touched her and the second his skin touched hers, she slumped unconscious.

Over the chair, he looked directly at me with familiar golden eyes set in a heavyset, strong-boned face the colour of good coffee. "I'm sorry, but it was necessary to stop her before she drew too much attention to herself." His voice was impossibly deep and resonated down my spine.

"Who the hell are you?" I snarled. I lunged for him. "What did you do to Anna?"

He held up a hand. I stopped, frozen in mid-step. I couldn't move a muscle. "My name is Joshua," he said, "and the woman you call Anna will be perfectly fine. I mean none of you any harm, quite the opposite in fact."

"Why are you here then?" asked Carlisle. Nice. The damned leeches weren't immobilised, just me then.

Joshua answered Carlisle, but kept his eyes on me. "I'm here to help you and to warn you." He waved a hand and I stumbled, losing my balance now I wasn't held in place.

"Help me how?" I growled, straightening back up. Who the hell was this guy?

His answer wasn't reassuring. "By helping you understand what you've let yourself in for."

TBC

**Author Note: I just realised that I forgot to put a note at the bottom. D'oh! Thanks to everyone who had reviewed this story. I really, really appreciate you taking the time to post, it really does make such a difference to know folks are enjoying my efforts. Helen :-)**


	4. Chapter 4

**TITLE:** The Madness of Jacob Black

**CHAPTER FOUR**

**AUTHOR:** Helen Taft

**GENRES:** Action/Adventure/Romance

**PAIRING:**Jacob Black/OC

**SUMMARY:** Would fate do this to me? I'd already suffered through several levels of hell with Bella, and now I might have imprinted on a crazy person. Come on! How is that fair?

**DISCLAIMER**: The Twilight saga belongs to Stephanie Meyer, as do all the characters. I'm just playing a little while. There is no infringement intended and no profit made.

**AUTHOR NOTE (ADDED): Thanks to alley0212 for pointing out just how close I've skirted to a Supernatural storyline. I honestly hadn't realised until now just how really is close. D'oh, so this note is to give a nod to the Kripke gang and admit I'm a big fan of Supernatural. Hence my shock at not realising how close-don't you just love how the mind works? I'm normally a stickler for giving credit where its due. So. Apologies to anyone who saw the similarities and wondered at it. This Anna's storyline may seem similar in the boardstrokes, but physical similarities are not there and the story will not even be close to the same. But, we do have an angel called Anna who has no memory! Although mine didn't fall, but was smited, and lots of other things that are totally different. Still...this note is necessary. *headdesk***

**CHAPTER FOUR**

Eyes narrowed under lowered brows, I crossed my arms over my chest. "All right, so enlighten me. What have I let myself in for?"

Joshua walked around the chair and looked down at Anna. "First, you should know that she wasn't always a human being. She was once my sister." His gaze lifted and burned into mine. "I care for her too."

I didn't want to hear it. If I could I would have covered my ears and la-la-la-ed by way through this confrontation. Because I couldn't, I attacked, "Sister?" I sneered. "_Right,_ because the resemblance between you is obvious—not." I curled my lips. "Like I'm going to trust some stranger who just pops up out of thin air."

"Physical resemblance is irrelevant to my kind," Joshua replied. "And, I do not lie, ever."

My jaw tightened to the point of grinding teeth to dust. "So you say, still a doubting Thomas here."

"Jacob, you're not helping," said Carlisle.

"Like I care," I shot back, infuriated and glad to have a target. "He's making this up to try and get his hands on Anna."

Carlisle ignored me. "You said you came here to help. Can you tell us what happened to Anna?"

"She sacrificed herself to save him." Joshua's hand waved in my direction. "She was the Watcher for this area and saw what was going to happen on the night of the half-breed's birth. She knew he would fare badly regardless of whether you won the battle or not. She pleaded for us to intervene, but was refused. We were forbidden to interfere and she disobeyed that edict at the cost of her immortal body."

He was _really_ bugging the crap out of me. "What's a watcher? What immortal body? Anna is human, she's been tested by him," I stabbed a finger at Carlisle. "So that proves you're lying."

That dark head inclined. "Anna and I were both once a part of the heavenly host. She is no longer such. She is now fully human."

Alice recovered from her shock enough to ask incredulously, "Let me get this straight. Are you saying you're an angel!"

I snorted in derision. "Don't be stupid. That's just fairy tales."

Joshua held up a quelling hand. "This will go faster without interruptions, and I prefer to finish before the others of this house return. I don't have much time."

He continued, this time addressing me, "You can believe me or not, it is your choice. The truth of the matter is simple. Of all of us, she was the one who loved humans the most. She was…eccentric for an angel. Mankind endlessly fascinated her. She admired them, and cared about them to a depth that eluded many of us. In that, she shared the passion of our Father. When she was assigned here, she found herself drawn to one soul in particular," he hesitated, "you could even say she fell in love."

"Whose soul?" The question was knee-jerk. Anna in love scared me. Jeez, surely I didn't have competition _again_!

Those gold eyes sharpened with impatience. "Yours, and she suffered for it. Within minutes of saving your life as you now know it, she was tracked down and smited." Joshua stopped, brooding. "She should have died; the fact that she lives on in a human body means that it was our Father himself who performed this miracle. I don't pretend to understand for what purpose, or why you have this odd connection with her. I fully admit to being baffled by these events."

A part of me was glad I wasn't the only one clueless. "If what you say is true, why doesn't she remember any of this?" My voice was a croak. I didn't want to believe what I was hearing, but it was starting to make bizarre sense. I hadn't forgotten a single detail of that night. _Someone_had intervened_._

"As an angel, she was a thousand millennia old. Do you really believe a human brain could contain all of that information? No, it is better and safer for her to remember nothing, and live as a human with no past to struggle with."

"She can still heal," I mumbled. "And she can still see souls." Damn it, crazy or not, I was really starting to believe this! Angel Anna. Anna the angel, sacrificing herself. I couldn't take it in. My head felt like it might explode.

Joshua looked resigned, but not surprised. "Her role as one of us was to facilitate healing in mankind, whether it be physical, emotional or spiritual. She still retains the last vestige of her connection with heaven. That connection is ordained and permanent. I cannot sever it even if I wanted to do so. She must endure this ability."

"What can we do to help her when she suffers from this…ability?" asked Carlisle. He was taking it so well my mind boggled at his composure.

"Jacob did well enough today. His extra-human characteristics are uniquely perfect for such a task. You can keep her safe," Joshua told me, "and in one piece. If I didn't think so, I wouldn't have left her with you."

I was still numb, reeling, "Why are you telling us all this?" I felt a spark of anger and fanned it because it felt better than confusion. "Why wait until now instead of days ago when she was all alone? If she's human like you say then she could have died of exposure or had a fall—anything."

"I had faith that if she could survive smiting, she could survive being human, and I was right. As for why I'm telling you now—I would have preferred not to appear at all, but you gave me no choice in bringing her here. This vampire managed to dig deep enough to access the last moments of her angelic life. Anna was singing to our Father. Music is how we pray and communicate as well as being our food and sustenance. We sing almost constantly. If she'd been overheard by the one who smited her, he might…try again. I wish to avoid this if possible. It is best that she not draw attention to herself."

"Who smited her?" My hands had curled into fists.

He saw straight through me. "That is none of your concern, Jacob. You're role in this is more than enough to keep you busy."

"But not out of trouble," I finished for him. I didn't like the way he said my 'role' like it was temporary or something. I couldn't stand still anymore, I paced the room in an angry prowl. "You said you needed to warn me. Warn me about what—this smiting guy?"

Joshua shook his head. "I'll be keeping an eye on him, you're job is to watch out for such earth-bound powers and authorities that would seek her out if they knew she was here. Vampires will no longer be your biggest or most dangerous problem." Joshua's smile was distinctly dark. "There are worse things that go bump in the night."

"Fine. I like variety," I gritted out. "Anything else I should know?" I wanted him gone before he changed his mind and decided I wasn't good enough to look after her.

"Yes, there is one last thing," said Joshua. "I put Anna to sleep so she would not see me or hear what I've told you. I strongly suggest you keep it from her. Should you ignore my warning, she might eventually unlock all of her memories, and likely be driven mad by them. The human mind _can_ be overwhelmed and if that happens she will lapse into a vegetative state. I was hoping she would remember nothing, but her memories of you prove some have bled through." His eyes drilled into mine. "You must be _especially_ careful."

I was too numb to answer. It was Carlisle who said, "We will heed your warning, have no fear."

"I'm glad to hear it." Joshua dug a slip of paper out of his jacket pocket and gave it to me. "When you want her to wake, say this word in her ear."

"Wait, wait," interrupted Alice, coming alive as a thought struck. "I almost forgot. What about Anna's dreams? Are they future visions or just memories?" She shrugged and sent me a slightly malicious glance. "It might be useful to know, I can't see the furball's future."

"These are the memories of Jacob I just mentioned, the things that would have happened if she hadn't interfered. You can rest easy, Anna is not a seer."

Satisfied, Alice pumped up a thumb. "Good to know. Thanks."

"You're welcome." Joshua bowed his head. "The others have returned. I will now depart."

He wasn't joking. The very next moment Joshua disappeared like a damned puff of smoke, only minus the smoke. He was just gone. He left behind a ringing silence. I gazed at Anna, still sleeping so deeply she might as well have been unconscious. I didn't know what the hell to think. There was a clatter coming from downstairs and then numerous feet flying up the stairs. Joshua had been right about the others being back. Edward, Emmett, Jasper and Bella all burst into the room. Esme wasn't far behind. "Are you all right? Is anyone hurt?"

"We're all fine," said Carlisle, making calm-down motions with his hands. "We were never in any danger."

"A freaking angel," exclaimed Emmett, excited and baffled. "I didn't think they even existed."

Edward had obviously got the full visual and passed on the information. "You and me both," I muttered. I'd kissed an angel—an ex-angel anyway. Hell, I was imprinted on one. Way to go to bump up the strong werewolf gene.

And none of it was Anna's fault. _She sacrificed herself for him._ _Within minutes of saving your life, she was tracked down and smited._ Joshua's words were stuck in a loop in my head. _You could even say she fell in love_.

It was still a struggle to put it all together in my head. It was Anna who'd stopped the battle that night two weeks earlier. It was her light, and her voice, and her images that had saved Bella and Renesmee, as well as both packs and the rest of the Cullen's. No blood had been spilled because an angel had disobeyed and stepped in—for me.

I couldn't wrap my head around it. It was completely nuts. The only thing that was crystal clear in my head was that I didn't want to lose her. For a horrible moment, I'd thought Joshua had come to take her back, away from me. I don't know what I'd have done if he'd tried—got myself killed probably.

This whole situation was totally insane.

She looked so fragile when she was sleeping, and gut-wrenchingly beautiful. As a human, Bella's beauty had been understated, but Anna's was right there and in your face. I tuned out the others and sat down on the floor by the chair. I lifted one of her hands and left it lying in my palm. It was a slim hand with long fingers and short nails, a neat and pretty hand that made mine seem large, callused and clumsy. I didn't mind the comparison. I closed my fingers around hers. She stayed fast asleep.

_She sacrificed herself…You could even say she fell in love._

Totally mind blowing.

I heard Edward's steps, and recognised his eye-watering stink. "Is she okay?" he asked in that soft voice that usually grated on my nerves like nails on a chalkboard.

It didn't bother me so much now. "Yeah, she's sleeping. I'll wake her up when I get her home." I'd spend the time driving to think up what to say to her. I'd promised not to lie to her, and I didn't know if I was going to be able to keep that promise.

Edward pulled up the desk-chair Alice had been using. "An angel, huh? I'm impressed, Jacob."

I could hear the smile in the words. "Don't you mean relieved?" I shot back.

"That too, for your sake," he admitted. "Still, I'm glad Carlisle was right—about many things. I've never seen him so excited."

Okay, so Edward still got on my nerves. He always sounded so freaking civilised, except for the one time I'd kissed Bella against her will. I angled my head to sneer at him. "Yep, because it's so much better to be a bloodsucking demon with a soul, right, Edward?"

He smiled again, unfazed. "You're absolutely right. It is better." He tilted his head, reminding me of Anna's habit. "Just out of idle curiosity, why are you trying to pick a fight?"

I shrugged, caught out. "Habit, probably, and I'm not exactly in my best frame of mind."

With a sigh, Edward rose back to his feet. "That's understandable. I'll leave you alone, but if you're planning on leaving soon, do me a favour and say goodnight to Renesmee, she wants a cuddle."

I nodded. "I'll hunt her up before I go."

"You're both welcome to stay the night," said Carlisle, walking up to us. "I'm sure we could make you comfortable."

Not without a clothes peg welded to my nose, I thought. "Thanks, but we're expected back home. Billy'll worry. You know how it is?"

Disappointment was clear on that movie-star face. "I do. If we can help in any way, now or in the future, please, just let us know."

"Will do." I stood up too. "I'll go find Ness and say goodnight, then take Anna home."

"She and Bella are both in Edward's old room. Do you know where that is?"

"I'll find it." Bella's new leech scent was no more enticing than Edward's, but it was distinct enough that I could follow her trail in the house, no problem.

I did find her, but Renesmee wasn't anywhere in sight. Bella spotted me turning to leave the room and called my name, "Jacob. Wait. I want to talk to you."

I turned slowly on my heel. "What is it Bella? I'm kind of in a rush."

She was wringing her white hands, even whiter teeth chewing on her bottom lip, "Jacob, I'm worried about you."

My brows winged up in surprise. "Don't be. I know what I'm doing."

"Do you? Are you sure about that? I heard what might be coming after her, Jacob. Don't be an idiot, you'll get yourself killed."

"I won't, but so what if I do. Why do you care?" I stopped, realising I'd fallen into another old habit. I grinned and shook my head, more at myself than anything else. "Forget I said that. I'm not even bitter anymore. It must be knee-jerk by now to lay a guilt-trip on you." The same as it was to pick a fight with Edward, I thought, amused.

Bella didn't smile. "Do you think I don't love you anymore because I'm a vampire now? You're wrong. I love you exactly the same as when I was human. You were right today: I have been avoiding you, but only to give you some distance so you could move on. I want you to be happy, Jake, that's all."

I believed her in a way I hadn't been able to before Anna. She'd closed the distance between us, close enough for me to be able to reach out and grasp her arms, squeezing her stone-like flesh gently. "Then be glad because happiness is on the horizon. Anna is mine, Bella, and I'm not giving her up. I wasn't sure about it, not until an angel popped up out of thin air and, for just a split second, I thought he was going to take her from me. That's when I had my epiphany and it's pretty much along the lines of—if anyone is stupid enough to try and take her from me, I'll rip them apart with my bare hands." I jerked a thumb at my chest. "This is me imprinted, and I'm happy about it."

"Come on, Jake. You can't be that hooked so soon."

My grin recharged at that. "Looks who's talking."

She rolled her eyes. "All right, fine. I give up, but you have to promise to ask for help if you need it. Edward and I will both be there the moment you call—just make sure you call, okay?"

"That I can agree to. I appreciate the offer and if it turns out to be needed, I'll call. When it comes to Anna's safety, I'm not proud."

~0~

I pulled up a few meters before Emily's place. Anna was buckled into the passenger seat and still fast asleep. I'd spent the drive debating with myself over leaving her that way and waiting until morning to wake her up; she could do with the rest. More than that, it would let me put off breaking my promise to her. Keeping her in the dark about Joshua's revelations would mean a whole string of lies. I didn't like it, but I couldn't figure a way around it unless I ignored Joshua's advice and told her.

He'd said it was necessary, that there was a risk of her losing her mind if she managed to drag her angel memories back. It made sense that you could only cram so much into the human mind, so did I really want Anna overloading hers? If I told her the truth and asked her not to try and remember, would she be able to resist? I knew I wouldn't.

Did I have the right to make that decision for her? Duh. Of course not. But I was going to do it anyway. My stomach sank. That was it then, that was my decision. I raked my hands through my hair, tugging at my scalp. I hated this, when I gave my word, I liked to keep it. But I couldn't risk her turning into a vegetable.

She'd saved me from losing my home, my tribe, my family and possibly my life and definitely some of my pack: it was time to return the favour. Sh'yeah, nice justification there, Jake.

Whatever. If she found out, I'd just have to grovel for forgiveness. I could do that, no problem.

Course, it didn't help that I felt like a hypocrite. It wasn't that long ago when I'd sneered at Edward for lying to Bella to 'protect her'. Awesome. I loved comparing myself to a bloodsucker, and losing.

It doesn't matter—vegetable, remember!

Before I could change my mind, I leaned over and whispered the phrase Joshua had told me to use to wake her, gently shaking her shoulder at the same time. Anna woke with a start, staring at me through the darkness of the Rabbit's interior. I straightened in my seat as she jerked upright and stared around her in confusion. "What happened? Where are we?"

"You passed out," I lied smoothly. "So I brought you back to the reservation. Emily's house is just a little further along this track."

"I passed out?" she repeated, staring. "Again?"

"Yeah, Doc Cullen says your mind just isn't ready to remember yet, and you should stop trying for now." I gave a casual shrug and added another lie. "He thinks it will come back eventually."

"But, I can't just give up!" Anna scrubbed her face to try and force her sluggish mind to wake up. "Jacob, I need to know who I am."

"There's no urgency, Anna. I'm going to look after you. You don't have anything to worry about." I started the engine, revving it louder than necessary in an attempt to end the conversation. She touched my arm to get my attention and I pretended not to notice. The track was pitted and seriously uneven, meaning I had to muscle the steering wheel to keep us going straight. As soon as we were outside the little wooden house, I got out, avoiding more conversation. Sam and Emily came out on the porch. It was still a shock to see the perfect, scar-free face. I could imagine Sam's feelings of relief and gratitude, and planned to use it.

Anna got out of the passenger door and slammed it shut. She looked agitated. "Jacob, I can't just give up so easily."

"Who said anything about easily? Hypnotism didn't work and we're out of ideas. We've got no choice but to give up for now." If she came up with more ideas I'd just have to come up with ways to squash them. I was committed now.

Emily stepped onto the grass with a glowing smile of welcome. "Anna, you just need to rest. I'm sure that in a few weeks your memory will start coming back." She tapped her own temple. "It's still in there, just not ready to come out yet."

Sam followed his fiancée, eyeing me with a knowing look on his face. I nodded at him, mutely agreeing to talk after we were alone. I'd have to tell Billy and my pack too, but that was as far as it went. Less was definitely more in this case.

"Let us look after you," Sam said to Anna. "Emily has a spare bed and Jacob won't be far away."

"You're not staying?" asked Anna, turning to me.

"I'm only a few minutes away and I'll be back first thing in the morning." I didn't mention the numerous times I'd be doing a sweep around the house during the night. As would both pack members. She was well protected.

"Can I talk to you?" Anna asked. She didn't wait for an answer before walking away a few meters. I followed her, halting when she did.

"Remember how you promised me I wouldn't be a burden? Jacob, it might take years for me to remember who I am. I can't expect you to watch over me, and house me—"

"Stop right there," I interrupted, grasping her arms. "Anna, you're not a burden and you won't ever be one to me. We're connected, remember?"

She threw up her hands. "_How_ are we connected? I don't understand."

"I get that, but I have to ask you to trust me on this. I swear I'll explain it to you soon. I just need to check a few things first." I pulled her closer and tilted her chin up with one finger. "Please."

Seconds passed before she finally caved in. "All right. For now."

She looked so uncertain and so unhappy that I couldn't help myself, I enfolded her in my arms for a long hug, kissing the top of her head. Her arms wrapped around my waist. "Stop worrying and get some rest," I said gruffly, pressing my cheek to her hair, breathing her in. "I'll be back in a few hours."

She nodded and dropped her hands from my sides to follow Emily. I watched with Sam as the two women went inside the little house together. "What is that you don't want her to know?" asked Sam.

I didn't need a mirror to know my expression was grim when I replied, "Come with me to Billy's. I only want to have to say it all once."

Sam agreed to come back with me in the Rabbit. Leah was waiting by the car when we got to it, although still in wolf form. I told her to fetch Seth and meet us back at the house. I was glad to find Rachel and Paul were still out when we got back. I loved my sister, but I didn't want her in on this secret and Paul would find out from Sam. Billy had the front door open before I'd even turned the engine off. Seth and Leah came running from the direction of the Clearwater home.

"Anna is with Emily," I told Billy as I walked up to the door. "I've asked the others to come so they can hear what I have to say too."

"Fair enough," said Billy, a watchful, wary expression crossing his weathered face. "Who's watching Emily's house?"

"Quil and Embry," answered Sam. "They've got it covered."

"What's going on?" demanded Leah as she and Seth walked in behind us. She kept her eyes well away from Sam. "What happened at the Cullen's?"

"Sit down and I'll tell you."

With all the interruptions and exclamations it took a while to tell them what happened, especially when it came to Joshua's sudden appearance. In the twenty minutes it took to pick through the details, the others went through the same range of emotions as I had: disbelief, incredulity, and finally drifting along in a sort of dumbfounded acceptance.

"So, it was Anna that night?" said Leah, working it through. "And she got her ass kicked for stopping us going to war on each other?"

"In a nutshell," I confirmed.

"That stinks," announced Seth, outraged. The baby face that drove him nuts was flushed with temper.

I smiled: I could always count on my wolf brother. "Agreed."

"Trust you," said Leah, without much heat in her voice. "No girl in the tribe was weird enough for you, so you went for the wannabe vampire and followed it up with a freaking angel." She shook her head. "Only you, Jacob."

I couldn't exactly deny it so I settled for a relatively mild, "Hey!" and a black scowl.

"What about these dangers the other angel warned you about," said Billy. "Do we know who or what they are?"

"No idea, he just called them powers and authorities. Carlisle mentioned a reference that sounded similar. He's going to look into it and get back to me."

Billy nodded, every inch the Chief. "Good. The more we know the better." He sat in his wheelchair pondering, looking more serious than I could ever remember. Eventually, he spoke up again, "The tribe, through my son Jacob, has been charged with the protection of a celestial being, this cannot be taken lightly. The other elders must be informed."

"I agree," said Sam.

I wasn't so sure. "She's not a celestial being now, she's human, and I'd like to keep her past a secret. The more people who know about her, the stronger the possibility of it leaking out."

Billy sighed. "I'm only talking about the elders, Jake, not the tribe at large. We've kept our magical nature a secret for hundreds of years, keeping secrets is nothing new to us."

I still didn't like it. I paced, agitated. "Just the elders?"

"Yes."

"Fine, but I don't want any decisions made without me being involved. I may not be on the council yet, but she's mine to protect." I felt stupidly fierce about that fact. I was probably over-reacting, but now was the time to set the boundaries. I might not be quite eighteen, but there was no way I was going to be over-ruled.

This time it was Sam who responded. He knew where I was coming from. "Jacob, the fact you've imprinted on Anna makes that law. We would not act in any other way."

I grimaced and said nothing. Billy took my silence as acceptance. "Anna cannot remain at Emily's for long as the wedding is soon. We need to think about how we can house her. I will raise this with the elders—" He sensed my glare and rolled his eyes, "—and consult with Jacob."

~0~

I was being overprotective and I blamed the huge mess of uncertainty that was my life. I couldn't sleep, couldn't read or do anything to distract myself, that left me with only one option: I phased and set off for Emily's house. My future wasn't any more certain when I was close to Anna, but just seeing her should distract me enough that I wouldn't go loopy with it. I hoped.

Sam opened the door and came out onto the porch when I ran into the clearing. He spoke low, knowing I'd hear. "I've been expecting you. I couldn't stand to be parted at first either." He smiled. "It gets easier when everything is settled." Having said his piece, he stepped back into the house, leaving the door open. I was insanely grateful.

My plan, if you could call it one, had been to lurk around the house and find the window to Anna's room so I could settle down outside it. Sam had given me access to the house. I padded inside being careful not to scratch the floor with my claws. I found Anna easily by her scent and stood outside listening to her deep, even breathing. I stayed there for a while to make sure she was definitely asleep. When I was sure it was safe, I pushed open the door and slunk inside. The room was small with the single bed pushed against the window wall. Anna was lying under the blanket with one arm thrown over her head, her hand lying palm up on the pillow. Even in my wolf form she made my heart flip-flop in my chest. I settled down next to the bed, feeling contentment stealing over me despite being squeezed into a too small space. I was exactly where I wanted to be.

I stayed there until morning and crept out again at dawn to hunt, and I did the same the next night and the next. By day, I stood beside her as a man, taking her home with me to Billy's or showing her the rest of the reservation, and by night I slept beside her in Emily's house as the wolf. A few times, she started tossing and turning, dreaming. I lost count of the number of times she called my name. The first time, I'd whined in surprise and those golden hazel eyes had shot open, latching onto mine. Heart thumping, I'd waited for her to scream. She didn't, she reached out with a hand and lightly stroked my head, then went straight back to sleep with her fingers tangled in my fur. I spent that night not moving a muscle in case I dislodged her hand. I woke up the next dawn as stiff as aboard and didn't give a rat's ass.

I was still trembling with joy as I gambled about the woods, playing more than hunting, giddy with happiness. Anna wasn't afraid of me.

**TBC**

Note: Yikes, I forgot my author note on the last chapter until days later, sorry! So, a big thank you to my reviewers! I really appreciate the support and encouragement. As always, feedback is received with joy. Thanks!

Author note (2) Thanks to Taffyj for the heads up on a typo. D'oh! Of course its 'host'. Also, I can safely promise I have no intention of pitting the pack against heaven. :-)

Also, while I'm here, thanks to Jakefan for the lovely review!


	5. Chapter 5

**TITLE**: The Madness of Jacob Black

**CHAPTER FIVE**

**AUTHOR**: Helen Taft

**GENRES**: Action/Adventure/Romance

**PAIRING**: Jacob Black/OC

**SUMMARY**: Would fate do this to me? I'd already suffered through several levels of hell with Bella, and now I might have imprinted on a crazy person. Come on! How is that fair?

**DISCLAIMER: **The Twilight saga belongs to Stephanie Meyer, as do all the characters. I'm just playing a little while. There is no infringement intended and no profit made.

**AUTHOR NOTE (REPEATED FROM CHAPTER 4): Thanks to alley0212 for pointing out just how close I've skirted to a Supernatural storyline. I honestly hadn't realised until now just how really is close. D'oh, so this note is to give a nod to the Kripke gang and admit I'm a big fan of Supernatural. Hence my shock at not realising how close-don't you just love how the mind works? I'm normally a stickler for giving credit where its due. So. Apologies to anyone who saw the similarities and wondered at it. This Anna's storyline may seem similar in the boardstrokes, but physical similarities are not there and the story will not even be close to the same. But, we do have an angel called Anna who has no memory! Although mine didn't fall, but was smited, and lots of other things that are totally different. Still...this note is necessary. *headdesk***

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**CHAPTER FIVE**

La Push was enjoying a rare day of sunshine and blue skies. The dirt lot behind the scrubby grass was full for once. I held Anna's hand as we walked along the shore of First Beach, keeping our faces up to the late afternoon sun. We hadn't come alone, but we'd wandered off from the others far enough that we couldn't be disturbed. I'd had her to myself for most of the day. Contentment was a warm starburst in my belly, I just wished I could ditch the wariness I felt at feeling this happy. I may be young, but my life had already held more than its fair share of farcical love tragedy to last me a lifetime. A part of me was standing back, waiting for the other shoe to drop. The plus point to that being I'm excellent at ignoring stuff I don't like.

In the last three days I'd learned a lot about Anna; she didn't chatter, happy with silence when it suited the mood, she loved food with a passion that made me grin every single meal time, and she despised being cold with equal strength. She also had a habit of hugging everyone she came into contact with, making me wonder why she hadn't done that with the Cullens: ex-angel mojo maybe? She didn't recognise boundaries or social conventions and spoke her mind with sometimes hilarious consequences.

I'd laughed more in the last three days than the previous six months. 'Course, Billy, Sam, Emily, Leah and Seth could all say the same. Rachel didn't know what to make of her and Paul smirked at her—until I broke his nose again. What can I say? I take my kicks where I can get them these days. It helps not being in the same pack anymore.

"Jacob," she said, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah?" The sun loved Anna, turning her hair into a blaze of dark red glory. I didn't need to be told I had a dopey grin on my face.

"Why do you still visit the Cullen house when it bothers you so much?"

Whoa! Where was this coming from? Talk about left field. "Ah, I don't know what you mean?"

She gave me an arch, don't-give-me-that-crap look. "Yes you do. Your experiences in that house were painful. It makes no sense to keep going back there."

I was suddenly _really_ glad she hadn't seen me in the last few weeks since Ness' birth. Embarrassment singed my cheeks. I looked away, my mind scrambling to find some firm ground. I tried to make it a joke. "So, is this another one of your dreams? Y'know, the ones where you see my past?"

"Yes, I recognised her, Jacob." Anna's brows drew together in a distracted frown. "Even though she's different now. By the way, I've been meaning to ask, are red eyes normal?"

"Depends on your definition of normal," I hedged. "Anna," I sighed, "Okay, let's take this from the beginning. Exactly what did you see in your dreams about Bella and me?"

Anna turned her face so all I could see was her profile. "I saw that you loved her with every fibre of your being, and sacrificed too much for too little. She makes me angry, Jacob and even though I know that's wrong, I can't seem to help it. She hurt you and that…riles me." I got another sly glance from the corner of her eyes. "I almost said something when you introduced us the other night, but I didn't want to be rude to Doctor Cullen."

I couldn't hide my wince. "I'm glad you didn't. Anna, I hurt myself just as much as Bella ever did, more probably." I stopped and pulled on our entwined hands so that she had to stop and face me. She kept her gaze stubbornly on the sand until I lifted her chin. "Bella didn't lie to me, I just refused to give up on a lost cause. That's on _me_."

Anna's eyes narrowed. "Perhaps, but she dangled you on a string, needing you _and_ him; she made it impossible for you to lose hope. I know the blame isn't all hers, I even know she felt guilty about your suffering, but it doesn't change the fact that you put everything on the line for her, and she chose to let you."

"Jeez, you saw a lot didn't you?" I shook my head, nonplussed. "Anna, I knew what I was doing. Bella's not to blame because I have a hard time letting go."

This had to be one of the weirdest conversations I'd ever had, we were discussing her dreams and my past like they were a movie we'd both watched and were now debating. Bizarre.

Anna heaved out a frustrated breath. "I know that, Jacob. You have a strong, loving spirit and an ability to give that is very impressive. I love looking at your soul, it's every bit as appealing as your face." Before I could latch onto that fascinating titbit, she placed a hand right over my heart and said, "Sometimes in my dreams I see you so broken that this part of you, the core of you, is bleeding on the inside. I can't bear it. It breaks my heart too."

Anna never lied, that was something else I'd learned. If she said something, she meant it. I had to clear my throat. "It doesn't matter, because I'm fine now." I put my hand over hers, locking her to me. "You fixed me so it didn't happen."

I didn't know what kind of reaction I expected, Anna was never predictable. Her nails curled, digging gently into my flesh. "You're saying I healed you? Like Emily?"

I was shaking my head before she'd finished. "No, not like Emily." I sucked in a deep breath, tensing, "I stopped loving Bella," I paused to think about what I'd said and added, "in _that_ way the moment I saw you. I'll always love her, but it's different now, and that's why it doesn't hurt anymore."

"I don't understand. Why is it different?"

I didn't answer straight away. I was too scared to, and she prodded me, "Why is it different, Jacob?"

Closing my eyes, I blurted it out, "Because I'm falling in love with you."

The silence lasted for two heartbeats. Anna's voice was a whisper. "How can you fall in love with someone you don't know, who doesn't even know herself?"

My eyes popped open again and I gripped her hand harder when she would have pulled away. "I know the person you are, your past doesn't matter."

"You know me?" I'd shocked her.

I nodded. "I do, or I'm getting there."

The golden eyes that warmed me from the inside out were suddenly glassy with tears. "Am I a good person, Jacob?"

I couldn't believe she doubted it. "Yes, totally."

"I don't know that I am, and other people think I'm crazy. Don't deny it."

I wrapped my arms around her in a hug and she let me hook her in. "A little bit crazy, sure, but I don't care." I dropped a kiss on top of her silky head. "You're just you; funny, warm and loving, and that's all that matters to me. I wouldn't have you any other way."

Her arms came around to wrap tight around my waist, her palms clinging to my back. "Thank you for that," her voice was soggy, thick with tears. "I'm so glad you found me, Jacob. I think I'd probably be dead if it wasn't for you."

Unlikely, I thought, more likely committed to a hospital ward somewhere. I squeezed harder, rocking her in my arms. "I seriously doubt it. You're tougher than that."

She laughed, a weak chuckle against my breastbone and tilted her head back to look up into my face. "I'm glad you think so." There were still tears on her cheeks that my tee-shirt hadn't absorbed.

It was a mutual decision to close the distance. I lowered my head and Anna went on tiptoe. Our lips met with a sigh of relief that lasted a fraction of a second before a deep grinding need kicked in and blasted my control into the ozone. A freaking force of nature couldn't have made me pulled back now. I threaded my fingers through the hair at her nape and tilted her head back enough for me to plunder her mouth. Jeez, I felt like marauding, it was like I had no choice. I was acting on pure instinct. Self-control was history.

When she needed to breathe, she breathed into my mouth, because I sure as hell wasn't backing off. Her hands flexed on my back, gripping harder and giving me back kiss for kiss. My head was about ready to blow. I was going-to-combust. I was literally about to go up in flames if I didn't do something drastic _right now_, like topple her to the sand and slide on top.

The ball hit me centre of my back with enough force to jerk Anna out of my arms. I snatched her back and then spun to find out who was the asshole who'd smacked the damn thing right at us. A good twenty-five meters away, Paul was laughing like a loon, bent over with the force of the whooping laughs coming out of his big, stupid mouth. Embry and Quil had an identical 'oh crap' look on their faces. Leah and Seth, sitting a little apart now they were no longer a part of Sam's pack, despite my ordering them back, we're both looking at me expectantly with small grins tugging their lips.

Well, I wasn't going to disappoint everybody.

I charged and a smirking Paul set off too, meeting me halfway. We collided with a bone-crunching slam and my greater muscle mass and height meant Paul had to give ground. We went airborne with my left shoulder dug into his solar plexus. I heard him gag and then curse. We landed with me on top and rolled and rolled, each trying to land a disabling blow. Rage whipped me out of control. I got in a few good shots, then saw stars when he landed a glancing punch on my chin, forcing my head to snap back. I recovered and aimed a short-armed jab at that very same nose. I felt the crunch of ligament and the warm spurt of blood. _Yippe-kiyay_, freshly broken.

It got nasty, _fast_. He flipped his back and dislodged me enough that he could flip me off to the side, sneaking in a punishing punch to my ribs. Hell, even the folks of Forks must have heard that crack of bone. Absorbing that punch with fresh fury, I whipped backwards with an elbow and caught him directly on his windpipe. He choked and wheezed, gagging again, unable to inhale. I froze. Oh crap. This was getting _way_ out of hand.

The others must have figured the same. Quil and Embry both grabbed me and starting hauling me backwards. Leah and Seth were running over with Anna between them.

Damn. I'd forgotten Anna was watching. Shame scalded me. "Okay. It's okay. I'm done." I said, holding up my hands and didn't resist being dragged back. "I didn't mean it to go so far."

Quil trusted me enough to let go and run back to help Paul. Leah had reached me. "What the _hell_, Jacob. Is insanity catching or something? Sam is going to go nuts."

I shook my head, dizzy with adrenaline crash. "I know, I was out of line. I don't why…"

"Man, you whaled on him, bro," breathed Seth with the light of admiration in his eyes.

Anna didn't look at me, she just kept trying to bypass Leah to reach Paul. I put out my hands, blocking her latest move. "No, Anna. It's not worth it. He'll be fine in a few minutes."

God, I hated the fact she'd seen me act like such a savage. I didn't even want to know what she thought of me right then.

Quil came over with a smile for Anna. "Jacob's right, Anna, Paul is a-okay and back to his usual bull…crap. He's already plotting revenge." Oddly, nobody swore in front of Anna. He smacked me on the shoulder. "I don't blame you, Jake. The way he launched that ball at you it could have hurt Anna. I would have reacted the same if it had been Claire. Sam won't give you any grief. Paul deserved it—asshole."

"Thanks, Quil." My shame was as hot as ever, but I was stupidly grateful. I forced myself to look at Anna who was staring at me with a thoughtful look on her face. "What is it?" I asked, holding my breath, prepared to be royally chewed out for my behaviour.

"He healed very quickly." She noted. "Is it because he's a wolf like you?"

My jaw dropped open. She'd said it just like that. Well, damn. So much for my hope of putting off this talk for a few more weeks. I rubbed the back of my neck. "Erm, you could say that."

The others shot off fast enough to convince me someone had lit a fire under their feet. Anna watched them go with a puzzled look on her beautiful face. I wanted to touch her. Hell, I always wanted to touch her. I kept my hands to myself by shoving them in my jeans pockets.

I gestured further up the beach with a jerk of my chin. "Will you walk with me?"

Anna tilted her head, eyeing me. "How are those ribs?"

"Fine, not even twinging. I'm okay." I grimaced, "And so is Paul, not that I'm saying that makes it okay…y'know, what I did."

"Don't make a meal of it, Jacob. I'm not ignorant of the human capacity for violence, you know."

Well, that didn't make me feel any better. I frowned. "You remember that?"

"Nothing specific," she answered, starting to walk. "I just know I know it, if that makes sense?"

"Yeah, it makes sense," I said, meandering with her down the now deserted beach. I must have scared off everyone else too. We were the only ones left on the beach. I said, "Do you remember me telling you I have secrets I can't share with you straight away?"

"I remember. It was when I asked you not to lie to me."

"Yeah, that's right." I hurriedly brushed over that bit. "Well, the fact that a number of my tribe can shift into a wolf is the big, bad secret. We don't tell outsiders, ever." Bella didn't count, she'd guessed.

"Am I an outsider?" asked Anna.

"Not anymore. You're with me now. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to burden you with it when you already have so much to deal with." I snagged her hand again, praying she wouldn't pull away. She didn't. "How long have you known about me?" I asked her.

"Since the beginning I think. You've been a wolf in my dreams, and so have the others. I know them too." She shook her head, perplexed. "Don't you think that's strange, considering none of you know me?"

"I'm used to strange things—werewolf, remember?"

"Oh, true, I suppose." She stopped at a fallen log and sat down. I sat next to her, keeping close as the breeze had picked up. "Are there many werewolves in human society?" she asked.

"I don't think so. As far as I know it's just us Quileutes."

"So, I'm not the only weird one then?"

"Nope, you're in good company."

"I like that."

I smiled at her glee. "I figured you might." I gently bumped her shoulder. "So, you're not afraid of me?"

"Why would I be?"

I thought of Alice Cullen. "Some people might say werewolves aren't good company."

"Well, I'd have to disagree with them."

"You would, huh?"

"Absolutely." She turned so her face was right by mine. Her gaze dropped to my lips. "Are you going to kiss me again?"

My heart leapt about a foot in my chest. "I was thinking about it. Does that mean you won't object?"

She didn't answer me with words, but actions. We did end up on the sand and I kept my body between her and the sea to limit the breeze while we kissed and strained for more. Her hands felt out-of-this-world good on my overheated skin.

~0~

I'd barely walked in the house before Rachel bore down on me like an avenging angel. She started swatting me and scolding furiously, "You're tracking sand in the house. Damn it, Jake, I just brushed up. How the hell did you get so covered? Did you _roll_ in it?

"Pretty much." Grinning, I sidestepped my irate older sister and headed straight for the refrigerator.

Billy looked over when I came into the kitchen, abandoning the TV. Paul was nowhere in sight. "Did you take Anna to Emily's already?" He didn't try and hide his disappointment. He loved having her in the house with us. I wasn't surprised him since she spoiled him without even trying. Anna was fascinated with trash TV just like my dad. She'd curl up on the ratty couch with her feet under her hip, asking questions the whole time because she didn't get what was going on. I didn't mind. I liked seeing them together; watching them give me a funny ache in my chest.

I grabbed the jar of PB&J out along with a loaf of bread. "We both needed showers. I'll swing by and get her later."

Rachel poked me in the gut on passing. "That's not taking a shower. That's filling your belly, _again_."

I rolled my eyes at the criticism. "It's not me sucking the place dry of food every day. Blame your idiot boyfriend."

She must have caught in an odd note in my voice. She swung round and pinned me with a gimlet stare. "Did you two fight again?"

I pondered honesty over self-preservation, and went with honesty. I'd get it harder in the neck later if I lied. "Yeah, I broke his nose again." I limited the truth to that part only, the rest I hoped would never get mentioned.

"_Jacob_!" She growled. "I swear I've had with you…"

The phone gave a shrill, insistent ring. Saved by the bell! Rachel was closest so she picked it up, still glaring at me. "Black residence."

Whoever was on the other end, caused Rachel's face to go blank. She handed me the receiver, fairly vibrating with cold disapproval. "It's for you. It's Bella Cullen." She gave _Cullen_ a deliberate emphasis. As if I needed the reminder!

I took it and ignored the pantomime. "Bella, what's up?"

_"Hey, Jacob. Carlisle asked me to call you. He's been looking into that reference. He hasn't found much, but apparently it's some kind of bible reference or something. He says the powers and authorities refer to the 'prince of this world'. It's all way out there. Sounds like a load of hyperbole if you ask me, but what do I know."_

"You and me both," I said feelingly.

_"Carlisle says it's possible that Joshua meant human agents and not just supernatural nasties. He thinks it would be a good idea if we create an identity for Anna. Sooner rather than later, just in case, y'know."_

"It's a good idea. Tell him I said thanks. Would he be able to help out with that? I don't know the first thing about a good fake ID."

_"Same here, but the Cullen's are pros at it and Carlisle would love to help. There's one more thing. Alice can't see Anna's future, she thinks it may be because she's with you, or because Anna was once an angel, it's either or. The same thing goes for Edward, he can't read her mind: all he gets is a lot of garbled noise. We meant to mention it when you were here, but with everything going on we both forgot. I'm guessing you're pleased. You hated him being able to read your mind."_

"Yeah, I'm pleased." Mostly. "Does Edward know what the noise is all about?"

_"No idea, Jake, sorry."_ She sighed. _"It won't be anything bad, so stop worrying."_

"I'll try. I'm turning into a champion worrier."

_"You?"_ she scoffed. _"It won't last. You're too overconfident, and the annoying thing is you have good reason. She'll be fine."_

It was good to hear her voice, even if I wished it were her human voice in my ear. "Thanks, Bells. I appreciate the vote of confidence. What does Carlisle need for the ID?"

_"If you bring her here we can take the photograph and get the signatures. We'll need to make up a name that fits in with the story of Anna being related to Esme."_

"We'll work it out. Tell Esme to start digging into her fake family tree and we'll be there tomorrow."

_"Cool, see you then, Jake. I'm looking forward to it."_

"Me too. Bye."

I hung up and found both Billy and Rachel starting at me. Rachel looked pissed. "Great so now you're doing criminal stuff for her. Isn't faking an ID a federal offence?"

Now I was getting angry. "I don't care, Rachel."

"Well, you should care, what's going to happen to her if you get put away for twenty years, huh? Ask her that—"

"That's enough, Rachel," said Billy.

She ignored him. "And while you're asking her that, ask her why she hasn't healed dad if she's such a super healer? For crying out loud, Jake, why did you have to pick a nutcase stranger from nowhere and not a Quileute girl?"

This time Billy roared, "That's _enough_, Rachel!"

The damage was done. I was quivering with rage. I backed away from my sister just in case I couldn't contain it. She must have seen something in my eyes because she started backing away too. Good, I thought savagely. I wanted her to be afraid just then. "Don't you speak of her like that," I said in a low voice that was more of a rasp. I wasn't as controlled as I'd thought. "Anna can't heal on a whim. She can't control it. If she could help dad, she would." My lips curled back over my teeth. "As for imprinting, I never wanted it—ever, but it happened. That's not my fault either. _It's done_!"

I'd been too distracted to hear anyone coming from the front door behind me. I didn't know how long Anna had been standing there listening. Billy looked horrified. Rachel was too distracted by me to have noticed Anna either. I scented her first and jerked my head around to stare at her.

"I walked," Anna said, dully. "I thought I'd save you a trip. I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything." I couldn't read her face, she was utterly expressionless. "I'll come back later when you're not so busy."

"Anna, wait." Sick to my stomach, I went after her. I didn't have a clue how much she'd heard or understood, and was terrified it was too much.

I caught up to her at the bottom of the path. "Hold up!" It came out as a snap. I didn't want to have to chase her down or manhandle her if she was mad.

Anna stopped but didn't look back at me. "I need a few minutes, Jacob."

She was doing what I do when I'm upset, storming off to brood. Not a great idea. I stopped a few feet away, close enough to reach out. I didn't touch her though. "What did you hear, Anna?"

"I'm not sure what I heard," she snapped back, golden eyes blazing straight at me now. She was well and truly mad. "Which is why I need a few minutes to get my crazy head around it."

"Just ask me, Anna," I pleaded, "Don't go off alone and get it wrong. I'll answer if you ask me."

An emotion I couldn't pin down flashed over her face. She turned away, staring at the edge of the woods with her arms crossed defensively over her chest. "I've heard Leah talk about imprinting, and I thought it sounded awful for everyone concerned. Have you imprinted on me, Jacob?"

Every cuss word I'd ever heard paraded through my mind. "Anna, it's not like that. Leah is wrong, but she's got good reason for thinking that way. I should have told you—"

"Yes, you _should_. But you're getting ahead of yourself. What exactly _are_ you telling me Jacob. You still haven't answered my question."

"Yes, I imprinted on you." I hurried on. "I didn't tell you for the same reason I didn't tell you about the werewolf thing, I didn't want to overwhelm you with a lot of stuff right off. I wanted time for us to get to know each other."

She whirled away, and her voice went high with distress. "Jacob, nothing you say changes the fact that any feelings you may have for me are not of your own choice. I could be the biggest bitch in the universe and you'd still have to love me."

She was paraphrasing Leah, I could hear my packmate in every word. I was going to be having strong words with my second in command. "Anna, you're wrong, both of you are wrong. I still have full use of my brain. The only difference between what's happened between us, and the normal way two people fall in love, is that my feelings were strong straight away and they'll never change. You're my soulmate and I'll never have another. I'll never want anyone else but you. You're it for me."

"What about free will, Jacob? Don't you care—"

"I still have my own will, Anna. I didn't understand it until it happened to me. That stuff Leah was sprouting was just prejudice and bitterness. I look at you now and I know why I imprinted, you are _exactly_ right for me. If I'd been able to give anyone a chance, I would have fallen in love with you and it'd be exactly the same as now. All imprinting did was break down the barriers I hadn't been able to kick down by myself."

"How can I be exactly right for you—?"

I put a hand over her mouth, stopping her. "Don't say you're crazy. You're not crazy, that joke is old. You're just…learning everything all over again."

Anna pulled my hand away. "That's a nice way of saying I have the smarts of a child," she said with a small smile.

"I'm a nice guy, most of the time. Can I ask you a question now?"

"Go ahead."

"What about you? Am I alone in this, or do you have feelings for me too?"

She raised a hand to her brow, shaken by the question. "Jacob..." When she fell silent, unable to say the words, I'd swear my heart started to shrivel, but then she said, "Yes, I do. I know it makes no sense, but I think the reason I remember you is _because_ I have strong feelings for you, I think I was already in love with you. I don't know how that can be. You didn't recognise me, but that's the impression I have…"

She pulled a face. "I'm confused, Jacob and scared. I hardly know what I'm doing from one minute to the next. I don't even know why I have dreams of other people's past when I don't have a clue about my own. I'm a mess."

"I know; which is why I didn't want you going off to brood by yourself. I knew you'd get everything backward and overreact."

"Hey!"

She'd calmed down. The crisis was over. I ran my hands up her arms, soothing us both. "I'm joking. Come inside, please. My dad missed you today, and my sister needs to apologise."

"Rachel doesn't need to apologise to me, I wish I could heal your dad." She spread her hands. "I honestly don't know why I can't."

"Hmm, heard that too did you?"

"I heard her shouting while I was walking up to the door. It was standing open so I just stepped inside. I should have knocked, but I was a little shocked."

I started back up the path with Anna's hand in mine. "Come back inside. Billy thinks the sun shines out of you. He doesn't care about what Rachel said. Come on." My coaxing worked and she followed me back to the house.

Rachel spun around to wipe at her tears when we stepped back inside. A second later, she turned back to Anna wearing an over-bright smile and red-streaked cheeks. She didn't look at me. "Hey, Anna. I'm sorry you caught us fighting. I always talk a load of crap when I'm angry, so just ignore me. Please, let me get you a drink…coffee, right?"

Anna agreed and Billy's face relaxed into a relieved, welcoming smile. Rachel had made me think and I looked hard at my dad, but I couldn't find even a hint of resentment that Anna hadn't healed him. He was a simple man, easily content with friends and family. He'd never let his illness turn him bitter. It hit me then, I'd been so stupidly self-absorbed for the last year that I'd forgotten how much I admired my old man. Billy Black was a great man and an even better father. I walked over to him and squeezed his shoulder, our usual sign of affection. He looked up at me. "Everything all right, son?"

I shrugged. "Sure, I'm glad she knows now. Makes it easier." I remember saying the same thing to him when Bella found out about me being a werewolf. I'd been so _unbelievably_ wrong. Billy lifted a brow, making it clear he was thinking the same thing. I laughed, hiding how much I didn't like the comparison.

He sobered and said low, "Make sure you take someone with you to the Cullen's tomorrow. It's not that I don't trust them—" he stopped, "okay, I'm lying, it is because I don't trust them."

This time my laugh was genuine. "I'm gonna take Seth with me. He gets on better with them than Leah. I'm grateful for their help."

"So am I, son, I just want you to take care anyway."

"Don't worry, dad. I've got it under control."

TBC

**A big thank you (with virtual cookies) to everyone who has posted a review. I have written stories in a vacuum before, but it makes an incredible difference knowing readers are enjoying my efforts. Feedback, really does feed the muse. On that point, I wanted to give a shout out to those who left unsigned reviews because I can't reply through the usual channel, so thank you to: twin268, Taffyj, jakefan, and RJM.**

**There is no clever and subtle way to ask for reviews so I'll keep it simple. All reviews received gratefully. Thank you!**


	6. Chapter 6

**TITLE**: The Madness of Jacob Black

**CHAPTER SIX**

**AUTHOR**: Helen Taft

**GENRES**: Action/Adventure/Romance

**PAIRING**: Jacob Black/OC

**SUMMARY**: Would fate do this to me? I'd already suffered through several levels of hell with Bella, and now I might have imprinted on a crazy person. Come on! How is that fair?

**DISCLAIMER: **The Twilight saga belongs to Stephanie Meyer, as do all the characters. I'm just playing a little while. There is no infringement intended and no profit made.

**CREDIT TO: Twilight Saga Wikia for helpful information on various topics. Supernatural for memory-challenged angels :-P **

**Author note (1): I have a confession. I posted chapter 5 too soon and hated it shortly after. I've done some editing to make it less twee, clichéd and sappy. Also to give Anna some backbone. :)**

**I think that's it except for the usual pleading for feedback at the end. Enjoy!**

**CHAPTER SIX**

Sunday morning meant a steady amount of traffic heading to one of the eight churches in Forks. Luckily, we were going out of town and towards the easily missed turn-off to the Cullen's place. The weather was back to normal, raining in a steady downpour with early fog blanketing the road. Anna was in the passenger seat with Seth napping in the back. He'd been on patrol the night before so I cut him a break and let him sleep.

The atmosphere in the car was prickly. Anna had her arms crossed tight over her chest and was staring out of the side window. I sighed and said, "I don't get it. I thought you liked Carlisle, and Esme?"

"I do like Carlisle. He's a good person and he's helped me. I'm very grateful."

"So?" I prodded. "Why the hissy fit about going to his house?"

'Hissy fit' was overstating it, but I was trying to get a reaction I could work with, even temper would do. All I got for my efforts was a calm reply, "I don't see why we couldn't have done what Leah suggested. There's no need to go to the house."

"I don't have a good enough camera, or a computer for that matter, and it's just easier if you're there to work through the details with Edward." I scowled at the windscreen. "What else has Leah been saying to make you so leery of the Cullens?"

"Leah told me nothing. She's still not sure if she trusts me. I told you, I don't dislike the Cullens. I just prefer not to go to the house."

"Why, because of your dreams?"

"That's part of it."

I rolled my eyes, frustrated with the cryptic answers. "So, what's the _rest_ of it?"

She shook her head, still refusing to look at me. "Never mind."

"Is it because Bella's there?" It was a shot in the dark, but Anna stiffened ever so slightly.

I shook my head in disbelief. "That's it, isn't it?"

Now I got a glare. "I said forget it, Jacob."

No way was I leaving it there. "Anna, I told you there's nothing like that between Bella and me anymore. That's all gone."

"And I believe you. I just think a little distance for a while wouldn't hurt," she said stiffly.

"But, it's not necessary."

She gave me a narrowed-eyed stare. "As I said, _forget it_."

Damn. That went well—not. I tightened my hands on the steering wheel. I wanted her happy and I wanted her safe. Happy or safe? Safe won without a contest. Anna needed documents. The conflict had my own temper simmering. "Look, just do me a favour and behave when we get there. Edward is doing your ID and I don't want to piss him off—_especially_ when there's no reason."

"You're the boss. I'm just a passenger—with no choice."

My grip on the steering wheel got to breaking point. Breathing slowly, I relaxed my fingers and shut my mouth. The rest of the drive was silent. I parked up in my usual spot in front of the entrance. I refused to use the garage on principal. The Cullens were okay, I even liked a few of them, but I wasn't too happy that they'd assigned me my own parking space in their mall-sized garage. I wasn't one of them. Never would be.

Bella opened the door and stepped out on the porch. She had a big smile for me and Seth, but it faded when it came to Anna. The two of them looked each other up and down with a penetrating stare that didn't bode well. Anna looked away first and I couldn't tell what she was thinking. Great. The last thing I wanted to end up doing was acting as referee between the two of them. Bella saw my disgruntled glare and shrugged apologetically as we walked up the steps to the porch.

"Hey, Jake…Seth." Her red eyes flicked to the girl just behind me and she said, "Hi Anna."

"Hi," said Anna shortly. She towered over Bella and kept her hands shoved into the pockets of my leather bomber jacket. Because of her height, clothing was still an issue.

Seth bounded up at the rear and said cheerfully, "Hey Bella. Lookin' good. How's it going?"

She ruffled his hair affectionately. "We're okay. It's great to see you."

When she turned to me, I said, "Hey, Bells," and pulled her into a one-armed hug, taking the opportunity to whisper in her ear. "Behave."

Bella hugged me back, gently given her new super-strength, and then pulled away, her lips twitching in amusement. "Always do."

"Sh'yeah, tell that to Edward," I teased, enjoying the ease I felt around her now. It was nice not to be wallowing in bitter misery. It finally felt possible that we could turn back the clock and be friends again, and that was something to celebrate. I just needed Anna to relax first.

Bella's smile widened. "I'll let you tell him. We're all here, waiting."

I wrinkled my nose. "All of you?"

She led the way inside, saying over her shoulder, "Yep. Even Rosalie and Jasper were curious enough to stay in the house. Everyone wants another look at your new, erm, friend."

"Fantastic," I said under my breath. I kept my hand on Anna's waist and gestured for Seth to enter first.

I heard Seth taking a deep breath before crossing the threshold and I did the same. It was a useless gesture, but one I couldn't help. I kept hoping it would help me get accustomed to the reek, or filter it some. We followed Bella up to the first floor lounge. She hadn't been kidding about the whole clan being present. As usual they looked like the cast from TV show about beautiful people. Even the house looked like an expensive movie set.

Carlisle came forward. "Welcome back. It's good to see you all."

He meant it, and so did I when I said, "Thanks for offering to help with this."

"We're glad to help," said Edward with a smile. "You've helped us enough in the past."

"This doesn't count as a favour returned, though," added Esme speaking to Anna. "We're honoured to help in any way we can."

Of course they were, Anna must seem like the Holy Grail to Carlisle. Plus, she'd ended any concerns about whether they have souls, since she could _see_ them.

Anna unfrosted enough to smile and say, "I know you do and I appreciate it."

"So," I said to Esme. "What names have you got for Anna?"

Over by the wall of windows, Emmett snorted, deeply amused, and I knew I was in for another name-game session in the Cullen House. Esme smiled brilliantly. "My maiden name was Platt, and my middle name was Anne, so what about Anna Platt?"

"It doesn't have to be an actual family name, does it?" asked Alice, breaking in, "Not so long as we build the relationship and the history properly."

"No it doesn't," said Edward. "But Esme has all of her family birth and death records and an intimate knowledge of that family tree. It's an excellent basis for faking someone's identity."

"Sounds like a plan," I commented. Rosalie pulled face, but I didn't see a problem. Platt was okay and it could have been a lot worse. Blondie could take a hike. I turned to Anna. "What do _you_ think? Anna Platt sound okay to you?"

Anna nodded, still avoiding my gaze. "It's fine. I like it. How long will it take to produce these false documents?"

"Not long at all," said Edward, bowing slightly in that old-world way of his that always made me feel like a lumbering Neanderthal in comparison. "If you'll come with me, we'll take the photographs and get started."

I watched Anna follow Edward and wondered if I should go with them. I was firmly in the dog house, but it didn't change the fact that Anna took 'blunt' to a whole new level. There was no guessing what she could say to Edward. I took a few steps, meaning to follow, then I heard the patter of little footsteps from the floor above. I braced, knowing what was coming. Nessie leapt over the balcony with a joyful, '_Jake_', and I caught her in my arms. "Hey, kiddo. Nice jump. I bet your dad hates you doing that, huh?"

Nessie bounced in my arms. "Yup. We gonna hunt today, Jake?"

"Not to today, but soon. Scouts honour."

When I looked back at the staircase, Anna and Edward were both gone from view.

~0~

After an hour, I was rethinking the notion and considering hunting them up. I didn't get the chance.

"Anna thinks I used you, doesn't she?" asked Bella, joining me on the corner suite I was sprawled on. Everyone else had drifted off elsewhere, including Seth.

Ugh. I did not want to be having this conversation. With my head resting on the back of the couch, I turned just enough to say firmly, "Leave it, Bella. We both know the truth."

She ignored me, as per usual. "Yes, we do, and she's right, I did use you. I knew it then and I know it now."

Straws and the back of camels came to mind. I threw up my hands. "Will you just stop with the guilt-fest! What is it with you two today?"

"So, I'm right. Anna blames me."

I worked up a good glower and poked a thumb into my chest. "_I_ decided to do what I did, not you. I wouldn't have listened if you'd told me to take a hike; not last year with the damn new-born army, or last month with Sam. I took a stand and it wasn't just about you, okay. You're not to blame for the crapshow that was my life, _I_ was."

"I know it wasn't just about me," said Bella, stung. "You were doing what was right, but it doesn't change the fact that I should have been more honest—"

"You never lied to me."

"No, I didn't lie, but I could have been stronger and refused to let you stick around in my life. It wasn't fair to keep needing you, _leaning_ on you like I did. It gave you false hope, and I knew it even when I was doing it. That's why I feel guilty."

"I knew the score, Bells. I just refused to accept it. You can beat yourself up about it, but it would have taken a lot to make me leave you—and you're not the kind of person who could have been mean enough to manage it. Me, yes. You, no."

"Maybe not," Bella sighed, she started to pick at the threads of a tapestry throw. "So, how's it going between the two of you?"

"Why are you jealous?"

She gave me a small, rueful and tip-tilted smile that reminded me that I did still love her, just in a different way. "I warned you I would be," she reminded me, "I still haven't decided if she's good enough for you."

"Let me know when you make up your mind." I grimaced. "And to answer your question, it was going good until this morning. She didn't want to come, meaning I had to insist, so now she's pissed at me for ignoring her _and_ forcing her hand."

"In that case I don't wonder that she's pissed at you," Bella didn't offer any comfort. "You're big in trouble, Jake."

"Yeah, don't I know it."

"I could help. If she thinks I'm a threat, I could talk about how much I love Edward. She'd soon get the picture."

I sat up, resting my elbows on my knees. "She's not jealous, Bella. She's protective, which is just ridiculous. I think she worries I'm going to start pining for you again or something."

"That's nuts," said Bella after a pause. "Haven't you told her about you imprinting on her?"

Hah. "Don't even go there. She wasn't happy about that either. She's scared, Bella. She's hiding it, but she's scared."

"And you're her rock, just like you were mine. No wonder she hates my guts. I would in her place. If she loses you then she's got nothing else to cling on to." Bella reached over and squeezed my hand, her touch cold and impossibly hard. "Go easy on her, Jake. It's not nice feeling that lost—I know."

We both heard a noise and looked up. The balcony to the upper floor was directly over our heads. Anna was standing beside a poker-faced Edward. "We're finished," he said smoothly. "Anna now has all she needs to prove she's Anna Katherine Platt."

Bella aimed a glare. "Nice. How long have you been standing there?"

Edward looked entirely too innocent. "We just got here."

Yeah. Right. Says the master manipulator.

He hadn't counted on Anna, though.

She lifted a brow and looked at him, saying, "We've been here for a quite a while. You rushed me out here and then stopped me from speaking so we could eavesdrop on most of their conversation. I let you because I was interested."

_That's my girl._

~0~

Big surprise, Alice had been shopping. Being Alice Cullen she'd used any excuse to seriously indulge. We left with a car full of clothes for Anna, with the black-haired midget swearing 'cross her heart' that she was an excellent judge of size and everything would fit.

Actually, I believed her. I just had my doubts about Alice's taste in designer clothing helping Anna to fit in on the reservation. I couldn't help wondering if lingerie was included. Bad thoughts. I tossed them out and hoped the mind-reading leech that was Edward hadn't caught my slip. I was out of luck. He smirked, making me want to plant my fist in his face.

Anna had no such doubts, they were clothes, end of story. I didn't say a _word_. I wanted out of the dog house. By the time we set off, Seth shared the back seat with a mountain of shopping bags.

The journey back was every bit as quiet, if a lot less tense. Anna was preoccupied and Seth fell asleep again. We were a few minutes away from my house when I spotted Leah standing in the middle of the road. She didn't look happy. Anna saw her too and I shrugged at her silent question. I braked and Leah stepped aside until I'd pulled over and then came up to my window.

She didn't wait for me to ask. "The cops are at your house. They're asking questions about Anna."

Panic squeezed my chest. "What kind of questions?" I asked.

"Full name, social security number, permanent abode. Blah blah blah. Then the question of why she's living with Emily when she isn't related, or even Quileute. They went to Emily's first and didn't like the non-answers she could give."

Crap. "What did my dad say?"

Seth woke up then, stretching and rubbing his eyes. "Hey, wassup?"

"Shut up," Leah and I said in tandem.

"Leah, what—"

She cut me off. "Billy's told them she's a friend of the family and visiting, and because your house is full, Emily is putting her up. They know about her connection to the Cullen's through Chief Swan and they're suspicious. It doesn't help that Billy couldn't give them a full name. Hell, if your dad wasn't an elder and on the council, I'd say you'd be in deep Ca-ca. As it is, they're being patient. Did you get her papers?"

"Yes, they're here." Anna held up the envelope containing her passport, bank cards and driver's license. "Is Billy in trouble because of me?"

I answered before Leah could spew her usual pessimism. "He'll be fine. We can handle this." To Leah I said, "Thanks for the heads-up. Take Seth with you. I'll catch you later."

Leah stepped out of the way as her brother climbed out of the back. Once they were clear, I got the Rabbit moving again.

"It's lucky you didn't listen to me about today," said Anna in a tight voice.

I glanced at her. She was as white as ghost and her pallor made her hair seem redder in contrast. "You don't have to worry. Edward created a history for you as well as the ID. Anyone looking at you will find everything they expect."

Golden eyes glowed with fear. "I'm not allowed to be here though am I? Will they take me away again?"

"No!" It came out harsher than I'd meant it to so I tried again. "Billy is on the council and the others know about you." I sent a silent thanks to my dad for insisting they be informed. "This is just the cops stomping around and saving face. They can't take you away because you have permission from the elders to live on the reservation."

And if the tribal cops didn't like it, tough.

When we reached the house, I pulled up outside the garage doors instead of the house. There was a familiar SUV parked in my usual spot. My spine heated up and I could feel the tremors working through my shoulders and down my arms. The anger in my gut was getting hotter, not calmer. I sat in the car, still gripping the wheel and took deep, even breaths. I needed to be calm, ripping a cop's head off would be a seriously bad move.

"Jacob—?" Anna reached over and touched my arm.

"I'm okay. Just angry. I don't think phasing would be a great idea."

"Probably not," she agreed with a small smile.

I tried to think. "When we get in the house, don't hand them any ID straight away. If they ask for it, and they will, just give them the driver's license, not the passport. People don't usually wander around with their passport unless they're at an airport."

"I understand." Anna leaned over and kissed me. "I'm not afraid now. I know this will work out okay, and I'm sorry I've been angry all morning."

I curled my fingers around her nape and kissed her back, lingering for a second against soft lips and warm breath. "I deserved it." I cracked open my door. "Let's get this over with."

We walked to the house hand in hand. The front door swung open as we approached and a heavy-set cop stood framed there. "Jacob Black?"

Keep it simple I told myself. "Yeah." This cop I recognised as the La Push equivalent of Charlie. He looked older with silvery grey hair down to his shoulders and pock-marked skin. In fact, that same skin looked like it would crack if he smiled.

"Come in, son. We've been waiting for your friend there."

He held the door open, like I needed permission to enter my own home. I squeezed Anna's hand and tried not to grind my teeth. I'd planned to play dumb, but changed my mind, it would come off as defensive, and I didn't want that. "So I hear," I said as I passed him. "Isn't it lucky we're here to clear things up?"

Billy was in his chair in the middle of the living room. His eyes met mine and I saw the anxious question there. I nodded and watched as relief relaxed his expression.

Billy's smile was genuine. "Hey Jake. Hey Anna." He nodded at the cop. "Daniel here has some questions for Anna. He says there's been a complaint about an unauthorised residency."

"Anna's residency here _is_ authorised," I told the cop, it was an effort not to snarl. "The council know about her and gave permission."

The asshole's black eyes were cold. "So your dad says, but I still have some questions, such as why no one seems to know even the most basic of information about her."

Anna spoke up. "It's okay, Jacob. I don't mind answering his questions." She locked eyes with him. "What is it you want to know?"

"Why don't you take a seat and I'll run through some questions." He took out a pad and pen while Anna walked over to the couch and sat down. "Let's start with your full name?"

"Anna Katherine Platt."

"Date, and place of birth?"

"November eighteenth, nineteen ninety two in Columbus, Ohio. Do you want the name of hospital where I was born?"

"No, Ma'am that won't be necessary, not this time, anyway. You don't sound like someone from Ohio." His smile didn't reach those black eyes. "In fact, you don't even sound American."

If I'd had time to think I'd have worried about Anna coping with an interrogation like this. I needn't have bothered. She sat still and perfectly calm. "I've spent a lot of time abroad. My parent's travelled around a lot."

"I guess that explains that. All right, explain your relationship to Doctor and Mrs Cullen?"

"Esme Cullen is a distant cousin and this is my first visit."

"Except you're not living with them, but with Emily Young here in La Push?"

Anna nodded. "That's right."

"Why is that?"

"Because I've been given the protection of the tribe and this house is full."

"Is that so? Why do you need our protection? Are you running from something?"

"I don't need police protection, I need Jacob's and Billy's" she threw a smile at Billy, "and I'm afraid the reason why is a private matter."

"It's not private if I'm asking, Ma'am."

"It is if the council says it's a private matter," interrupted Billy. "I told you she has permission to live here, Daniel. It is not within your remit to insist on the reasons behind our decisions."

Daniel didn't like that. He ignored Billy and went back at Anna. "Do you deny that you were found in an indigent state just a few days ago and taken to Chief Swan in Forks?"

That was it! My temper snapped. I crossed my arms and said in a quiet voice, "Don't you mean one of your cops found an injured, confused girl and dragged her off the reservation like a criminal."

"That's not quite how my officer's report reads, son."

I curled my lips back in a smile that showed my teeth. "Oh, I bet it doesn't. Probably, because he wasn't there when I took her to the hospital in Forks."

He didn't have an answer for that, so he ignored it. It was a tactic he used a lot. "I'll need to see some identification, Ma'am."

"Will a driver's license do?"

He frowned, surprised. "That'll do nicely."

Anna took her brand-new fake license out of the inside pocket of my jacket and handed it over.

Daniel took it and examined it closely. He handed it back after a moment with a tight expression. "I will be doing a background check, Billy. I take it _that_ is still within my remit as chief of police?"

Billy didn't take the bait. "It is."

"Are you satisfied now?" I asked, not even trying to hide my sarcasm.

He returned my earlier smile with his own. "Don't give me attitude, son. I hear you're no longer running with Sam Uley."

It wasn't a question. My brows drew together. "Yeah, so?"

"So nothing. Just making an observation. See you around Billy," He nodded to Anna. "Ma'am. You all have a good day now."

He was at the door before I asked a question of my own. "Who made the complaint?"

He turned back, "Excuse me?"

"You said someone complained. I asked you who."

"If the caller had left a name I wouldn't be at liberty to tell you, but it was an anonymous tip." He returned my stare. "Be good, Jacob Black. I'm watching."

~0~

There was no privacy in my house or Emily's. We went for a walk in the forest with Anna borrowing Rachel's walking boots and wearing a new waterproof coat with fur trimming around the hood. When we reached a sheltered spot under the thickest part of the tree canopy I sat on a giant, exposed root and tugged Anna down next to me.

"I have to go to school tomorrow," I said. "If I miss any more even the council won't be able to persuade them to let me graduate."

"Your teachers don't know about your other duties?" asked Anna. She put her arm through mine and shifted closer to my warmth.

"No, only the council and the packs know the truth, and now you. It's a secret."

"Okay. You don't have to worry about me. I can keep myself entertained."

"You sure?" I asked solemnly, hiding my smile. "I could ask Leah to keep you company."

"I'll be fine, and I'll ask Leah myself if I feel the need for company. I don't need a babysitter."

"Yeah, but Leah could take you into Port Angeles if I let her use the Rabbit," I dangled the bait and waited for her reaction. "She could show you around."

Anna saw right through me. "You want me off the reservation, why?"

"It's not that, I just prefer you didn't hang around my house with Billy out fishing, or Emily's with just the two of you. I just figure that if you're not easy to find, you can't be hassled."

"You're worried about that policeman," she guessed.

"Not so much, more uneasy. I can't really explain it." I sighed, disgruntled. "I wish we knew who the anonymous caller was. I like knowing who my enemies are."

"Will you worry less if I go to this Port Angeles with Leah?" She swivelled to swing her leg over the root, facing me fully with warmth luminous in her eyes. She'd go if I asked. Something vital and powerful trembled in my chest.

I matched the move, pulling her closer and draping her legs over my thighs. "Yes," I said the word against her lips. Her palms came up to cup my jaw and she tilted her head to kiss me softly; once, twice, three times. I fisted my hand in her hair and kissed her with a greed that had her sinking against me. There was no need to hold back, no barriers with Anna. Her hands stroked and clung to my back, then ran up my arms to grip my shoulders to give her the purchase she needed to match my hunger. When the need for air broke us apart it was Anna's hands in my hair that pulled me back for more.

TBC

I can't say it enough, thank you again for the feedback and reviews. It really, totally does make a difference in giving support and encouragement. Everyone who left signed reviews should have received a response off me. As I can't message unsigned reviews, I'd like to thank Jakefan and RJM for their feedback.

I hope you're still enjoying the story and would love to know your thoughts. I'm going through a stressful house move at the moment (don't you just love the timing of my muse—it chooses now to throw me into my first fandom for over 3 years). All feedback received with gratitude and virtual chocolate. Helen X


	7. Chapter 7

**TITLE:** The Madness of Jacob Black

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

**AUTHOR:** Helen Taft

**GENRES:** Action/Adventure/Romance

**PAIRING:** Jacob Black/OC

**SUMMARY:** Would fate do this to me? I'd already suffered through several levels of hell with Bella, and now I might have imprinted on a crazy person. Come on! How is that fair?

**DISCLAIMER:** The Twilight saga belongs to Stephanie Meyer, as do all the characters. I'm just playing a little while. There is no infringement intended and no profit made.

**CREDIT TO:** Supernatural for memory-challenged angels :-P Also see note 3.

**AUTHOR NOTE (1)**: My bad, I'd been mistakenly convinced that Jacob was seventeen by the time BD part 1 took place. He isn't and he doesn't make seventeen for another 3 months when this story takes place. Sweet sixteen still. Aw!

**AUTHOR NOTE (2)**: Salt as a means of repelling demons is an old myth (pre supernatural). Here's a quote. Because salt is a pure substance unlike demons and spirits which are impure beings. Most religions say demons which are evil fallen angels are impure so they can't cross objects that are pure. (iron,salt,etc.). Salt has been used to ward off evil creatures since before Jesus was around.

Quote 2: Salt has been long considered protective against evil and demons. In folklore, it has provided defence against witches, witchcraft, demons and sprites, and the evil eye. During the Middle Ages, it was a common belief that witches, and the animals they bewitched, could not eat anything salted. Inquisitors were advised by demonologists to protect themselves by wearing an amulet of salt, consecrated on Palm Sunday, and other blessed herbs, pressed into a disk of blessed wax. Carrying a concealed packet of salt is said to ward off the evil eye as well.

**AUTHOR NOTE (3):** I've used (and slightly edited) a line from an article about Team Jacob that I loved. The article was written by Annalee Newitz in i09 Movie review and dated 30th June 2010. I'd offer a link but we all know what is like about them. If you would like a link to the article just pm me.

**THANKS TO MADMAMBEAR FOR THE TYPO ALERTS! *hugs***

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

Quil and Embry were in Sam's pack but they were still my friends. If there was one plus point to being in school, it was that the three of us could hang out like in the old days. The banter was the same. They were both curious about Anna and Embry kept smirking at me for imprinting on her after I'd been so against it. Lunch was spent eating, talking and wrestling when Embry got in one dig in too many. Afternoon classes dragged and gym was as frustrating as usual because I had to rein myself in, draining any fun. The moment the final bell signalled, I headed for the exit. Quil and Embry caught up with me on the steps outside.

"Jake, hold up a minute," said Embry.

"We want to talk," tacked on Quil.

I didn't slow. "Talk fast. I'm in a hurry."

I wasn't kidding. I wanted to see Anna. Worry about teaming her up with Leah had been simmering at the back of my mind all day. What they'd talked about was another major concern. Leah had a big mouth at the best of times. Such a dumb move.

"We were thinking about the ways things are now," said Quil. I was barely paying attention.

Embry took the conversation ball back. "We've decided to leave Sam's pack and join yours."

That stopped me in my tracks. "What!" I stared at both of them. Other students dodged around the blockage we were causing.

"Sam's got four new members since you left. He won't miss us," said Embry. He shoved his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders. "We want to join you."

"We've already talked about it to Sam," said Quil. "He said he's okay with it if you are."

"Sam's okay with it?" I repeated, mentally scrambling to catch up. I'd never planned to go off on my own, or been pleased when Leah and Seth joined me, and now my two oldest friends wanted to increase my pack size. This was nuts. "You spoke to him about it?"

Embry gave a nervous shrug. "Yeah, we didn't want to be sneaky about it. We figured it would go smoother if we were up front."

"You wouldn't let us join you if Sam didn't agree first," added Quil. "We figured we'd get that out the way first."

They looked at me with anxious expressions, waiting for my permission—Geeze, this was a crazy world. "If Sam's okay with it, I'm okay with it," I said numbly, "If you're sure?"

They relaxed instantly. Grinning, Embry punched my shoulder. "Why wouldn't we be sure? We've been buds for years. This is right, bro."

"You haven't forgotten that Leah's my beta, right?"

Quil pulled a face. "The only potential down-side, but we'll deal. No problem."

The flow of students had slowed to a trickle. I started walking again. "All right, you're in. Meet me at my place…"

I trailed off when I caught a quick movement out of the corner of my eye and turned to see Jared running full pelt at the three of us. He leapt over the chain-link face bordering the high school like it was nothing. I braced, wondering if Quil and Embry had lied about having Sam's okay to leave when I noticed the wild, panicked look on Jared's face. That wasn't right: nothing freaked Jared.

The three of us ran to meet him in the rapidly emptying parking lot. I reached him first. "What's up?"

Jared skidded to a stop. "There's been an accident. It's your dad and Charlie Swan. I'm sorry, Jacob." He looked it and Jared was not the sympathetic type.

I went numb from head to toe. I couldn't move a muscle. "Are they okay? Who's hurt? Is Billy…?"

"We think Billy's okay. Charlie's bad though."

Charlie, Crap! I unfroze. "Where?"

"It's not far, we'll be quicker on foot. I'll take you," said Jared, and we followed him at a run.

It wasn't far and we beat the ambulances. I could hear Billy yelling and felt my heart give a solid thud of relief. Charlie, where was he? Two cars were set at a bizarre angle. The tan sedan had a crushed bumper and concertina'd hood. Charlie's cruiser had taken the brunt of the collision on the driver's door. The same door that had been wrenched off its hinges and now lay on the dirt road. I could just see around Sam's bulk enough to spot Charlie slumped in the seat. My dad was sitting on the ground by the tire, arguing with Sam. There was no wheelchair in sight.

"We need to get him out of there," shouted Billy. He sounded agitated.

"We could hurt him more if we move him. We must wait for the ambulance," Sam argued. He was hunkered down in the doorless frame of the driver's side.

I ran over and felt a lurch of sickness clutch my belly at the coppery odour of fresh blood. The scent was overpowering. Charlie was really hurt. I felt useless as I dropped down on my knees next to Billy and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Dad, are you okay?"

His face was pale with dirt-streaked cheeks bisected with tear-tracks. His voice shook. "I'm okay, it's Charlie who's hurt."

I looked inside the car and met the slitted brown eyes of Charlie Swan. He was barely conscious and blood covered his face. There was blood _everywhere_. His left arm and leg were in a bad way and his breathing made my own gutter in my chest with fear. Every breath rattled in his damaged chest.

"Hi Charlie," I said around the lump in my throat. "Help's on the way. Hang in there, okay?"

He blinked instead of speaking and I could see the fear in his eyes. Charlie knew he was hurt bad—even dying and he was terrified. That fear made me want to weep like a baby. I kept hold of my dad, trying to support and comfort him while we waited.

I was listening out for sirens and there were so many people milling around I didn't hear another car pull up. The smell of Charlie's blood drowned out any other scent. The first time I knew she was there was when I heard Billy whisper her name. "Anna."

Sam stiffened beside me. I jerked my head up to look deeper inside the car to the passenger seat and felt my jaw drop in shock. Anna was climbing into the passenger seat next to Charlie and reaching out to lay a hand on his head.

I was fast but not fast enough. Even if I'd wanted to, I couldn't have reached her in time to stop her, and I didn't want to. This was Charlie.

Sam looked down at me, a question in his eyes, and I shook my head. I had to believe she could help, and be okay afterwards.

Anna's healing of Emily had been scary to watch and I'd only caught the tail-end of it. When Anna touched Charlie I nearly changed my mind and gave an abortive lunge to stop her. Nothing happened. We all waited, totally frozen. Anna's eyes were unfocused, almost dreamy. Seconds passed and I worried that Charlie was beyond even her help. The first sign of change was when Charlie took in a long, clear breath. My own whooshed out from my mouth after being held in too long and to the point of turning dizzy. Billy gripped my hand tight when Charlie blinked and his eyes cleared and turned sharp and aware. He opened his mouth to speak, but it turned into a yell of agony. He and Anna both started thrashing a heartbeat later.

Sam did his best to keep Charlie in the seat. I left my dad to vault over the cruiser's hood and reach the passenger door. Leah was already there, holding onto Anna. I took over, trying not to hurt her or Charlie. I literally had a front seat view and I watched Charlie's crushed left forearm fill out and return to a normal shape. I could even see the bruising and mottling retreat from his skin. I imagined the rest of his crushed body was recovering in the same way, no wonder it hurt. Sam's eyes met mine. We were inches apart and trying to keep our respective charges from separating too soon. Sam was freaked and so was I. Anna's face was twisted with pain and her cries stabbed right into my heart. It ripped me up inside knowing I was holding her to something that hurt her. She would pay for this, and so would I because I'd have to watch it.

It felt like forever before they finally stilled. Sam slowly retreated and Charlie sat up, looking around in shock at the mess of his car and croaking, "What in hell is going on?" His voice was shaking as bad as Billy's, but he was speaking clearly. If you ignored the fact he was covered in his own blood, he looked relatively normal.

Outside the car, Billy hauled himself closer to the doorsill to ask anxiously, "How are you feeling, Charlie?"

I didn't get to hear the answer. Anna went stiff and her eyes rolled back in her head. I yanked her out of the car and started running with her in my arms. I could hear the sound of sirens in the distance. By the time Anna had let out that unearthly scream and started convulsing in my arms, I'd already reached the tree line. Leah was keeping pace with me and so were Quil and Embry.

"You need to get her indoors and out of sight," said Leah. "My house is closest."

She was right. I changed direction and sprinted for the Clearwater's house. Anna gave a final choked scream, went rigid and stopped breathing. We reached the house a few seconds later. Leah didn't knock, just burst in through the door with me on her heels. Her home was bigger than mine, and tidier. There were bright splashes of colour and photos everywhere, but that was all I noticed except for the large couch. I lay Anna on the cushions and crouched in front of it.

"What do we do?" asked Leah, pacing the rug behind me. It was just us in the room. The others had stayed outside.

"Get her breathing again." She'd inhaled but not exhaled, just like last time. I put the flat of one hand on Anna's chest and pressed down. I prayed for a reaction as I pushed the air out. Boy, did I get one. With no warning, Anna bolted upright with her eyes stretched wide and let out a piercing, high-pitched wail. Before I could say anything, she flopped back on the couch with her eyes closed again.

"Anna!" She didn't respond. I gripped her arms in my hands and jerked her up. Panic wiped every thought from my mind. For a split-second I thought she'd punched out and died on me. My horror was indescribable, until I heard her heartbeat, drumming fast and hard. She was breathing again too. Her skin was as pale as a sheet and there were purple shadows in her eyes dark enough to rival a Cullen, but she was alive.

I lowered my forehead until it was touching hers. "I am never going to put you through that again," I promised, even though she couldn't hear me. I meant every word.

"She's just fainted," said Leah, sounding relieved. "But at least she's breathing."

When I didn't answer, she said, "I drove over to the crash site when I heard. I didn't think to stop Anna until it was too late." There was a silent apology in there somewhere.

"I'm not angry. This isn't your fault." I was shaking and I couldn't tell if it was because of Anna or my own stress. "That was worse than last time and it's not finished. If she goes true to form, hypothermia is next on the list."

Leah nodded. "I heard about that. I'll go and fetch some blankets. Try not to strip totally to the skin or my mom will have a heart attack too."

We both heard Seth's voice outside with the others. I said, "Send Seth to find your mom and warn her, then tell Quil or Embry to go and update my dad. This could take a while."

~0~

It took hours. The attack of hypothermia was a hundred times worse than the last time. Guilt writhed like a live thing in my chest. I couldn't stand my own company and left Leah and Seth watching over a sleeping, exhausted Anna. I went to Forks, knowing that's where I'd find Charlie and my dad. Checking on them gave me something to do. Leah had a call from her mom an hour ago so I knew they'd been discharged from the hospital. I went to Charlie's house.

I knew the white painted house every bit as well as my own. Memories of Bella were alive in every room. Sue Clearwater answered my knock and stepped aside to let me in without a word. Her cheeks were tear-stained, reminding me that she'd been spending a lot of time with Bella's dad recently. Charlie was sitting at the tiny kitchen table wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt and still wet from the shower. Billy was in his wheelchair at the table too. Both men looked up as I walked into the room.

"Hey," I said in a general greeting. "You look better," I added to Charlie.

Charlie scowled. "If you mean I'm no longer covered in a dozen pints of my own blood—then yeah, I probably look better."

"That would probably explain it," I replied mildly. A brief and silent communication with my dad netted me the fact that Charlie was aggravated.

"What's up?" I asked, propping a shoulder against the doorframe.

Billy rolled his eyes at me. Wrong question.

"I'm glad you ask, Jake," said Charlie, turning to pin me with a stare. "You must all think I'm blind or stupid. Believe it or not, I can remember most of what happened. I can certainly remember my freaking chest caving in. Hell, I felt my spine snap like a damn twig," he mimed the action and his stare ramped up to a glare. "I should be in the morgue. Not drinking a cold one at my kitchen table."

Billy opened his mouth to speak and Charlie stabbed a warning finger at him. "And don't start telling me I imagined it in the stress of the moment, or some such damn nonsense. I've dealt with enough car accidents to know that was a doozy."

"What do you want us to say, Charlie?" asked Sue behind me.

He subsided, drinking back a mouthful of Red Rock. "I don't know. Maybe the truth."

_You can't handle the truth_, I thought, and knew I was right.

"The truth is you thought your number was up, and it's not," said Billy. "A sensible man would be relieved and celebrating."

"You're not wrong." Charlie held up the bottle. "See, this is me celebrating."

I went for a change of subject. "Did you ring Bella? She might freak if she finds out about the crash from someone else."

"I rang her. They're still in Europe somewhere, but I caught her on her cell. She's fine by the way." He gave me a look as if to make me feel guilty for my lack of angst over her absence. A month ago, I'd have leaped on that comment. Now all I could do was shrug.

I winced, I'd forgotten how twitchy it made me, talking to Charlie about Bella: he didn't have a clue that she was back in Forks, just no longer alive and raising his super-fast growing, half-human granddaughter. So not my business anymore.

"Who was the girl?" asked Charlie suddenly, yanking me out of my reverie.

I answered on the fly. "Which girl? There were lots of people hanging around. It's not often the pale-face chief of police crashes in La Push."

"Don't try and fob me off, Jake, you're not as good at it as your dad, yet. I mean the girl you yanked out of my car and carried off into the woods before the ambulance arrived. I didn't get a clear look at her face, but I know she was there."

Oh crap. There was a knock on the door and three out of the four occupants of the house were overwhelmingly relieved. Sue beat me to the punch. "I'll get it," she said brightly and turned on her heel.

Charlie could be stubborn. "What are you not telling me, Billy?" He included me, "Jacob?"

There was a muffled thud from the direction of the front door loud enough to have us all turning our attention in that direction. "Sue, you okay?" Charlie called out.

I heard footsteps and smelled something not unlike like burning rubber and over-used ashtrays. It should have been enough warning, but I wasn't expecting to see a man walking towards us as if he had every right to be there. Harry Clearwater was dead. I'd gone to his funeral and the wake afterwards. Except now he was walking right towards us. I forgot about the odd smell and just goggled.

"Charlie," he said cheerfully, "What's this I hear about you resurrecting from the dead?" Geez, he even _sounded_ like Harry.

"Looks who's talking," said Charlie. "Harry Clearwater is dead and buried." He rose from his seat with a red flush of temper climbing his neck. "Is this some kind of sick joke! Who the _hell_ are you? Who sent you here?"

Fake-Harry didn't even blink. "Where is she?"

"Where's who?" thundered Charlie. "Sue?" He shook his head, looking more furious than I'd ever seen him. "You leave her alone. Damn it! What you must have done to her turning up and pretending to be her dead husband." He started forward, intending to stomp over and get in the guy's face; Billy stopped him with a hand on his arm, silencing him in the process.

"What did you do to Sue?" Billy demanded.

_Sue!_ I felt my own flush of temper and impulsively went to confront the asshole myself. I imagined ripping off whatever bizarre face-mask he was wearing and planting my fist right in the face underneath. "Don't, Jacob. Stay!" I stopped, alerted by my dad's tone. This close, the smell of burning was overpowering. I wondered if it was me. My spine felt hot enough to singe my shirt.

"The woman is alive and will awaken shortly. I got this form from her memory. Unfortunately, she was blocking the fact he is dead." The vision of Harry shimmered and shook like a badly tuned TV. "As deception is no longer an option, I will ask directly. Where is the creature that healed you earlier today, Charles Swan?"

Charlie was struck-dumb. He just stared, mouth gaping in shock. The supernatural world he so wasn't ready to accept had just parked itself in his living room, steps away from the kitchen doorway.

It wanted Anna! "What the hell are you?" I demanded. This was no leech.

"You didn't think you were the only shape-shifters in this world, did you?" Fake-Harry replied and then turned that unblinking snake-gaze on Charlie. "I want the girl, Chief Swan. Tell me where she is?"

"We don't know what girl you mean," said Billy flatly. I had to admire his composure.

"You're lying." It took a few steps closer.

"That's close enough." My warning came out as a growl. "If you know about me, _then you know about me_. Trust me, I would love to rip you to shreds." I was seriously considering doing it anyway. If Charlie wasn't there, and already freaked out, I would have done it. This thing wasn't human and that made it a viable target.

Familiar lips curled back in a sneer. "Child, you don't have the slightest idea what you're dealing with. Your threats are meaningless to me."

"Maybe," agreed Billy mildly, "But I'm not a child and I have a better idea. Jacob, catch this!" He tossed me a container, yelling, "Throw it over him."

I didn't look inside, I just did what I was told. An arc of white powder showered over fake-Harry, catching him in mid-lunge. It'd/he'd extended a hand that was no longer a hand but a claw tipped with talons the size of daggers. Wherever the white powder landed fake-Harry's skin and even clothing started to blister and burn. It let out an ear-busting shriek and started to burn. Tongues of flame danced up the arms and torso until the entire body and even the head was completely aflame.

The fire went out as fast as it started. Harry was gone, leaving a bald, grey-skinned monster wearing not a stitch of clothing. It hissed, showing a set of fangs to rival my own, and then dissolved into smoke.

The after-stench was eye-watering. "Nice!" I looked inside the canister and lifted it to my nose to sniff. "What was in here?"

"The salt of the earth," said Billy with satisfaction clear in his voice.

"I don't care about the damned salt," said Charlie in a voice way higher than normal. "What the hell was that _thing_ just in my house?"

"Ah, I'm guessing that was a Jinn," said Billy, "A spirit demon born of fire that can change into either human or animal form. Luckily for us, most demons don't take kindly to salt."

Both Charlie and I said in tandem, "_What!_"

Billy spread his hands. "It was just a lucky guess."

"How do you know this stuff?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"I may not have phased like you, Jake, but I still had an interest in shape-shifting mythology."

That sounded reasonable. I looked at Charlie, his jaw was gaping and his eyes were bugging out in shock. I could see a scene of manly hysteria coming on; I bailed. "I'll check on Sue." I tossed the canister back to Billy. "See if you can refill that while Charlie packs." I looked at the man who'd thrown me in the air and caught me when I was no taller than his knee, and said, "You need to stay on the reservation for a few days. Make it fast will you, I want to get back before anything else comes knocking."

Charlie didn't move, still deep in shock. Billy grabbed his arm. "Do as he says, Charlie. It's not safe for you here."

~0~

This dream was very different from the others. The threat wasn't against Jacob or the packs, or even the Cullen's this time, but me. Scenes played out in my mind as if I was actually there, really participating, as if it were myself making the decision not to run, because I knew how useless it would be. I'd known the penalty for what I was going to do and done it anyway. My trial was short and my execution swift. I grieved over the end of my life, but I wasn't afraid, not at first, not until later.

It was the agony of the flames that finally sent me screaming back to the waking world. I jolted upright too quickly, making my head swim. Fear was a ball of ice in my belly, making my heart slam against my ribs. A sheen of sweat slicked my skin.

It took a few seconds for me to realise I was lying on a coach with a mountain of blankets tucked around me.

The dream had been so vivid I could see it again when I closed my eyes. I ran through the images in my head, committing them to memory. It still didn't make any sense. My dream self hadn't been human, not at the beginning…not until I was lying at the bottom of a crater and surrounded by smoke and fire. The appalling sense of vulnerability at my frailty and weakness had been overwhelming, and my nakedness hadn't been the cause.

I raised my hands, studying them. They were slender and not very strong, and my arms were just normal, human arms. But that was the point, I was _normal_.

It was just a silly dream. Not like the others.

Eyes wide, I looked around, disoriented to find it was completely dark now. The day was gone and I was alone in an unfamiliar house. Where was Jacob? It didn't take longer than a sweep of the room to know he wasn't there. He was too big to miss.

"Jacob!"

No answer. My heart sank.

My legs were trembling and the blanket covering me wasn't doing anything about the chill spreading over my skin in reaction. Jacob was the ultimate antidote to fear. When he hooked you into one of his bear hugs it was like being enfolded in vital strength, and safety and comfort were guaranteed. There was no chill or night terror that could stand against his heat. Dear God, I craved him now. I would give anything to have him walk through the door right this second. I closed my eyes and imagined him striding in with his white teeth flashing in a smile, sprawling next to me on the couch and anchoring me to his side with one strong arm. No such luck. When I opened my eyes I was still alone.

I pulled up my knees and rested my chin on them. I was a little hurt that Jacob had left me alone. The last time I'd gone into 'shock' after healing someone he'd stayed with me until I was fully recovered. I was more than a little unnerved at how quickly I'd come to depend and lean on him. The hurt couldn't distract me long from the dream though. Every time I tried to push it aside, a new image replaced the last. The crater tugged at my memories, but it was several minutes before I remembered why: I'd heard talk about it on the reservation. The topic consumed even the shopkeepers in Port Angeles. I broke out in a fresh sweat. The crater was real.

Shock brought me to my feet, dumping most of the blankets off the couch and onto the floor. At the same moment, the moon came out of hiding and streamed pale light through the side window to cover the length of the couch. Resting on top of the couch was a newspaper that had been set aside and forgotten. It was the picture accompanying the headline that caught my attention.

Under the big, bold letters proclaiming, '_Aliens or Asteroid?_' The grainy photograph underneath showed a large crater in the earth.

Before I could do more than lift it up and glance at the front page, the door opened and Seth poked his head in. When he saw me awake, he looked relieved. "Cool. You're awake. Least now I won't have to carry you. Erm, you might want to get dressed. We've got to go, Anna."

I looked down and felt a flush scald my cheeks. I'd been so agitated by the dream that I'd not realised I only wore some skimpy underwear. I snatched up a blanket and wrapped it around myself. "Give me a few minutes," I told Seth. "I'll be quick."

I hurried into jeans and a black, v-necked pullover. My shoes were slip-on's and my fitted jacket was warm and thick with a heavy-duty zip. I rolled up and tucked the newspaper inside the jacket with one end jammed into the waistband of the jeans. Even as I did it, I wondered why I was taking so much trouble to hide my interest. The only reason I could come up with was I didn't want to seem even crazier than most people already thought.

Leah, Seth and two other boys I vaguely recognised were waiting for me outside. "Where are we going?" I asked.

"Jacob's," answered Leah. "He's going to meet us there." She cocked a chin at the two boys. "This is Quil and Embry. They've just switched packs so they'll be coming with us. Feel free to ignore them if they get on your nerves."

It was a short walk, but the others surrounded me in a human/wolf-shield that made me uneasy. Lights were blazing in the Black household. The boys kept me outside while Leah entered. A few seconds later, she came back and motioned us to enter. I didn't have a clue what was going on, a frustrating if familiar state of mind, and squeezed inside the crowded little house. Bizarrely water was sprinkled on all of us as we entered. There were so many people there, including Sam, Billy, the packs and the Elders I'd met before. Craning my head to see over the crush, I sought and found Jacob. He was leaning against the kitchen worktop and looked up the moment I walked in, catching my gaze. Tension had been brewing a headache behind my eyes, and it eased when our eyes met. He looked me over, checking I was okay.

Something clutched in my chest, when I looked at him, another familiar reaction. He was so vital and _alive_, as if he has a special energy all of his own. Even his skin had a warm glow to it, echoed in expressive dark eyes under straight black brows. He was handsome in a bold, earthy way with full lips and short, straight black hair, and a tall, muscled body covered in dark velvet skin. But that wasn't why he affected me so much, and had from the very first. He was humanity, warmth and frank emotion that he couldn't hide no matter how much he tried. If Jacob felt it, he showed it.

His soul was every bit as beautiful in a wild, raw way: powerful, honest and strong with a wide river of love running right through it. The darkness I'd seen swamp his life hadn't twisted or lessened him. His suffering had been just enough to refine and mature him, and stopped well shy of breaking him.

I was so glad—so very glad.

He was more than a feast for the eyes, but one for the heart too. I knew so much more about him than myself. _I_ was a stranger to me, not him. I'd seen how he'd tried to play games to win Bella, but it just wasn't in his nature. He felt so much, and was capable of so much more. It was this capacity that I find so enthralling, especially when he offers it to me every time he kisses me. How am I supposed to be able to resist that?

If it wasn't for the imprint, I would have given in to my own needs; even hating it as I did, I couldn't keep him at bay. He made me feel churned up inside until it was close to pain, and soothed it when he held me close. He was impossible to ignore, at least for me. Too young, too hot-headed, too attractive, impossibly tall, loyal and stubborn to a fault and stuck with far too much responsibility, including me—everything about him was _more_. And it shouldn't be. It was too much for any man, never mind such a young one.

I should leave and lessen the load on him, but I just couldn't make myself do it. I knew I was too dependent on him. It scared me just how much, but I couldn't seem to help it. Without him, I didn't know what I'd do or where I'd go. Bella Cullen was right. Jacob was my only rock.

Jacob pushed away from the counter, snaked a hand through the press of bodies to grasp my wrist and pull me through to stand beside him. There, he fitted me to his side with an arm around my waist and accompanied by that flashing smile I'd been wanting. His "Hey" was every bit as warm as his body. I leaned into his strength with gratitude quivering in my belly.

I tried for nonchalance. "Why the sudden need for a pow-wow?"

"We had a bit of a situation at Charlie's and people need to know."

Billy called for attention before I could ask for more details. "Quieten down, folks." The crowded little house fell silent. I spotted Charlie Swan standing beside Billy and stiffened in surprise. I didn't have to wait long to find out why he was there.

"As you all know, Charlie Swan here had a near fatal accident this afternoon. The bottom line is, he'd be dead now if Anna hadn't healed him."

In the last few days, I'd had it impressed on me that my healing abilities needed to be kept secret, so I was wholly confused to hear it blurted out to a houseful of people. I watched Forks' Chief of Police hunch his shoulders, obviously uncomfortable with the sudden attention. He noticed me for the first time and stared for a second before looking away. Before I could do the same though, he turned back to me and nodded his head in thanks. I got the message, he wasn't convinced of anything yet, but he was grateful to be alive. Sue Clearwater stood on his other side in silent support.

Billy continued, his deep voice easily rising over the murmurs. "While my son Jake, Sue Clearwater and I were with Charlie in his home, a demon appeared and tried to force us to tell him who had healed him." This time the murmurs were loud and hissing with anxiety and excitement. "We fought it off and sent it packing, but we strongly suspect this is not the end of it. It will try again. We must all be vigilant from now on."

Sam asked, "You said demon, not vampire. Was that deliberate?"

"It wasn't a vampire," said Jacob. "Not even close."

"It was a Jinn," said Billy. "A demon shape-shifter. Unlike vampires, they have never been human, but that doesn't stop it looking exactly like any human you've ever known. At Charlie's it took on the form of Harry Clearwater after attacking Sue and accessing her memories. Luckily for us, the demon didn't know that our friend has passed on."

"How did you kill it?" asked Leah.

"We didn't" said Jacob. "We drove it off using salt."

Billy explained, "Jinn, like many demons, are burned by the purity of salt and can be weakened by it for a short period of time by it, but it won't kill them." He spread his hands in a helpless gesture. "I don't know of any way that they can be killed."

Jacob added more detail. "The damned thing turned into a puff of smoke and streamed out the window. I don't know about you, but I can't think of anything that hurts smoke."

Nobody liked the sound of this new threat. The house was eerily silent while they thought it over.

"If these Jinn are able to take on the form of Harry, they can become any man. How can we be sure that one isn't here with us right now?" asked another of Sam's pack. He was the one Jacob had fought with on the beach. Paul.

"We sprinkled salt water on each and every one of you when you came in," said Billy. "We haven't taken any chances."

"They stink too," said Jacob. "I didn't realise what it was in Charlie's until it was too late, but I'll know in future. If you notice the stench of burning rubber and old ashtrays anytime, then watch your back."

"That makes sense," said Billy, "Jinn are said to have been born in fire, another explanation for the grey smoke."

"Great, so we have a new enemy," said Leah sarcastically. "Is this it, or we can we expect more demons to join the menagerie?"

It was Sam who answered her, "We don't know what else may be coming for Anna. We have to be vigilant."

I'd kept silent until then, reeling. _Demons_! I knew what that was and I was terrified. "What do demons want with me?"

Every eye turned in my direction. Jacobs arm gently tightened around my waist. "We don't know, but it doesn't matter. We're going to make sure they never even get close to you."

"You're planning to fight demons?" I asked, slowly.

He actually grinned. "It won't be the first time we've kicked supernatural ass, Anna. We're old pros."

Not at this they weren't. I kept silent, the words locked in my throat.

TBC

**AUTHOR NOTE (4):** You've probably noticed I've switched POV at the end of this chapter. I plan to keep using Anna's POV for a few chapters before switching back to Jacob again etc. Ms Meyer wrote most of the books all in Bella's POV, but in the case of the books, Bella was the 'centre of the storm' and everything happened **to** her. This is not so in the case of this fic, so I need to write from both POV.

**Please do leave feedback if you can. There's nothing better to feed the muse:-)**


	8. Chapter 8

**TITLE**: The Madness of Jacob Black

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

**AUTHOR**: Helen Taft

**GENRES**: Action/Adventure/Romance

**PAIRING**: Jacob Black/OC

**SUMMARY**: Would fate do this to me? I'd already suffered through several levels of hell with Bella, and now I might have imprinted on a crazy person. Come on! How is that fair?

**DISCLAIMER: **The Twilight saga belongs to Stephanie Meyer, as do all the characters. I'm just playing a little while. There is no infringement intended and no profit made.

**CREDIT TO: Supernatural for memory-challenged angels :-P **

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

I didn't want to go to Emily's. Why should she have to take the risk of housing me? For that matter, why should anyone? I was a risk to everyone around me. I just wished I knew why! _Demons!_ I knew only snippets of information about them, but those snippets made my blood freeze with horror. A demon's sole purpose in life was to destroy as many humans as possible, by whatever means available. Their virulent hatred of mankind hasn't dimmed even a fraction in millennia after millennia. Nothing was beyond them; nothing was too vicious or evil.

I felt sick and my legs were shaking with fear until I could hardly sit still. Dear God, why did they want _me_? Had they _had_me and that was why I had no memory? The possibilities were appalling, but not knowing was much worse.

Seth was driving me to Emily's house with two more of the pack following in wolf form. Jacob was supposed to join me as soon as he could. I put my hand on his arm. "Seth, stop the car."

He looked at me, eyes wide. "Why? Did you see something?"

"No. Please, stop the car."

He did and the Rabbit came to a standstill with the engine still running. The woods pressed in from both sides of the dirt track. "What's going on Anna?"

"I need you to take me to the crater," I told him, trying for firmness.

His eyes bugged in shock. "What!"

I pulled out the crumpled newspaper and showed him the picture. "I want to go there. I think it's important." I said aloud what had been becoming more and more probable in my mind. "I think it may have something to do with what's wrong with me."

"No way," He was shaking his head before I'd even finished, "No way, Anna. Jake would kill me for sure."

That took me aback. "Why would Jacob be upset?"

"Because we're not allowed to…" He trailed off, staring at me with a guilty light in his eyes. "Look, its pitch black out there." He waved out the windows as if to emphasise the darkness. "That place is way off the track and we'd get lost. You'd probably fall or get hurt or something. I can't risk it."

Seth was a really bad liar. One thing was clear; he wasn't going to agree to take me to the crater, and it had nothing to do with the lateness of the hour. There was another reason, one that he was hiding from me at Jacob's instruction. It had to be Jacob: he was the only one who would give Seth orders. Suspicion was an ugly frame of mind and it took a firm hold of mine.

I hid my surge of hurt anger and said calmly, "What about in the morning, will it be light enough then?"

Seth looked relieved to be off the hook. "Probably. Ask Jake to take you."

"Do you think he will?"

He was caught out at the question and I could read the answer in his eyes. No, Jacob wouldn't agree to take me either.

Seth shifted uncomfortably in the driver's seat. "Well, he is kinda busy getting us ready for a demon invasion, but sure, you can ask him." He released the brake and got the car moving again. He used the need to concentrate as an excuse not to look at me again.

I didn't say any more. The reminder of the risks Jacob was taking; that they were all taking, on my behalf cooled my temper, but it didn't change my mind. I was going to go to the crater as soon as possible. I was just going to have to do it without my 'guards'. Afterwards, I'd confront Jacob and demand to know what he was keeping secret and why.

I remembered what he'd said when we first met. "_I have a few secrets that I can't share straight away, but instead of lying, I'll just tell you to butt out if that makes you feel better…_" Was this one of those secrets? If so, I didn't care. I refused to be kept in the dark when those same secrets involved me, and a potential demon horde.

I spent the rest of the short drive plotting a way to evade a pack of werewolves who thought they were protecting me.

Emily had fried some chicken and made potato salad and fresh bread. She chattered away—too brightly—as we ate in an effort to hide her own nerves. I used tiredness as an excuse to go to bed straight after the meal and hoped I'd fooled Sam. I was too tightly wound to sleep though, and was still wide-awake when Jacob came inside my room. I heard the creak of the door and turned to see the huge, furred head and muscled hunches of his shoulders clear the frame. In the dark, Jacob's wolf form was a massive shadow that barely fit inside the cramped little room.

He sat on the floor, looming over me and his eyes glowed in the meagre light filtering in through the window. He didn't lie down as he usually did, but stayed watching me, as unmoving as a sphinx. Tension raised his hackles, making him seem even larger. I understood. He knew what I'd asked of Seth, and he was upset. Yet, he'd chosen to come to me in a form that prevented him from asking me why I wanted to go there. Either, he didn't want to know, or he didn't want me asking any questions of my own.

Despite my suspicions after that brief debate with Seth, I'd been desperately hoping to be proven wrong. I'd needed Jacob to come into my room, confused, probably scowling, and demanding to know why I wanted to go into the woods in the middle of the night. I would have told him about my newest dream and then asked him what he knew about the crater. His silence could have been nothing more sinister than tribe secrecy and he just didn't want me near it, or perhaps he wanted me to stay indoors and out of the woods, especially at night. I'd be happy with any explanation to help me get rid of this new distrust.

I just needed to know.

But, he wasn't going to discuss it. That strengthened my worst fears to the point of certainty: Jacob was hiding things _about_ me _from_ me. My dream hadn't been nonsense: I was connected to that crater somehow. Jacob _wanted_me in the dark.

I felt shattered. Without a word, I turned to face the wall, unable to look at him. The string of his betrayal was agonising. Jacob was all I had and yet he was keeping things from me. How could I trust him now?

The feeling of loneliness and vulnerability was debilitating, crushing me. I curled into a ball.

Jacob didn't leave me to my misery. He gave a low whine and followed it up with a deep-throated groan. His heavy head came to rest on my hip. The battle was brief but intense. I tried to ignore him, but he wouldn't give up, nuzzling my side and neck until I capitulated and turned to lie on my back with a deep sigh. Even that wasn't enough; he didn't stop until I'd given even more ground and was facing him again with my fingers running through the thick fur of his chest and neck.

I stayed silent while his eyes spoke volumes. Regardless of my upset he wasn't going to leave me alone. I could push him away but he wouldn't go. There was a possessiveness, as well as a protectiveness, about him that I couldn't resist or fight. I needed him, was utterly dependent on him, and even now a stubborn part of me believed he cared about me and he wouldn't let me down. I prayed I wasn't deluding myself.

Still, one way or another I was going to find that crater, whether Jacob liked it or not. I was determined.

Six hours later, he left me again. I woke up, as I always did and waited for him to leave the house before slipping out from under the covers. I dressed quicker than I had ever dressed before, shrugging into a heavy coat to ward off the clinging dampness and chill of dawn. Once done, I hurried out of the house. Jacob would rendezvous with his pack close by to relay the days' orders. If I stayed downwind and hurried away from Emily's house, I planned to be past the likely perimeter before they knew I was gone, and they'd assume any scent of mine they came across was coming from the house or even left the previous day—I hoped anyway. Being caught was a risk I was willing to take.

I had to be quick and I had to be quiet, and even then it would be pure, dumb luck if I managed to get away undetected. Dumb luck appeared to be paying attention. It seemed to take forever and my heart was pounding by the time I reached the edge of the woods and open ground. Even then I knew I wasn't in the clear. There was nothing to stop one of the pack spotting me as I crossed the open grass to the main path, and racing after me on two legs. I had at least a half-hour fast walk ahead of me and I had to try and avoid being seen. It was still too dark for a normal person to spot me in the gloom, but there was no guarantee that one of Sam's pack wouldn't intervene if they saw me.

The news article hadn't given detailed directions, but there were enough hints for me to know in what general direction to head now I knew the reservation better. It wasn't raining, but it would be soon with the cloudbank sitting dark and low in the sky. I kept the parka's hood up to limit the chance of being recognised. The open ground finished and I had to plunge back into the woods. It still wasn't fully light yet and the trees reduced the limited light to near darkness. The smell of wet earth, tree sap and loam was thick and cloying.

Thankful for sturdy walking boots, I began the trek up into the hills and the beginning of the true forest. I lost track of time and direction. I was certain I was lost. Whichever direction I looked, it looked identical: trees, trees and more trees. One mud track looked pretty much like another and even the occasional group of rocks seemed too familiar, as if I'd passed them several times before.

Minutes sped by too quickly. An hour passed and then another. The sun defied my prediction and climbed steadily in the sky, burning away the clouds and providing a welcome relief from the incessant rain. When I heard voices, I was desperate enough to approach rather than avoid. I would never find this stupid crater without help. The voices belonged to a pair of young, male hikers just starting out for the day and taking advantage of the good weather too. They were surprised to see a lone woman out so early. I asked for directions and got them, along with a warning that the Quileute tribe had marked the area as off limits. Their grins showed their satisfaction at having bypassed the restriction at some point in the near past.

According to their expert advice, I had a fifteen minute hike to the site and needed to head in a direct in a south westerly direction.

I'd been listening out for a howl, certain it would come the second I was discovered missing. Waiting for it was a strain on my nerves, particularly when I passed the two hour mark. I couldn't believe I'd made it this far. My luck was phenomenal this morning. I just prayed it would hold.

Ahead of me the trees thinned and the sun shone brighter on the forest floor. There was an odd smell lurking in the air; a smell that made my lungs cease to function as it triggered memories that swamped my brain. It was like walking into an invisible wall. I stumbled, unable to get my legs to move properly with my mind otherwise engaged. I couldn't switch the images off, or make sense of the madness and confusion. I felt my knees hit the dirt and dimly realised I'd fallen to my knees.

Something bolted out of the forest behind me with such force the forest floor seemed to rumble under my legs. I saw only a blur as it circled me, snapping and snarling, then nothing for several seconds. I still couldn't move, locked inside my own head. A hard hand vised my upper arm to drag me up to my feet. I heard shouting, but the sound couldn't truly penetrate. Another hand grabbed my other arm, shaking me roughly. A face loomed close over mine, the expression dark and thunderous with fury: Jacob. The shouting got louder, finally breaking through.

"Anna! Damn it! _Anna!_" He shook me again. I'd never seen him so angry. "_Answer me_!"

He actually managed to push the memories away with the force of his anger. Self-preservation kicked in and I lifted a hand to shove against his bare chest, managing only one word, "Stop." His shaking me was doing nothing for my sudden, blinding headache.

He stopped. With a blink I focused on him. Today, Jacob epitomised his surname with the black scowl pulling his black brows together over furious dark eyes. He wore only shorts, meaning he'd hunted me down as the wolf and changed after he found me.

He let go of my arms as if my skin burned his palms and whirled to pace away. His movements were jerky, his body was rigid with visible temper. I got the distinct impression he'd let me go for my sake and not his.

He spun to face me, fists clenched tight. "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing sneaking out?" Jacob had lowered his voice but in no way did he sound calmer. Gravel would sound smoother. "Did it slip your mind you've got demons hunting you?" Sarcasm dripped from every word.

My head spun sickly and the headache started drilling right into the centre of my forehead. I was in no state for a confrontation but it seemed I had no choice. Jacob was seriously streamed and I was grateful for the space he'd put between us. It took serious effort but I stiffened my spine. "Don't put this all on me, Jacob. I did what I felt I had to do. I knew you were hiding something from me and I wanted to find out what it was. I have a right to know."

He didn't even flinch. A muscle jumped in his jaw as he crossed his arms over his chest. "If I'm hiding something from you, it's because I have to for your own safety. If it wasn't necessary, I wouldn't do it."

"What!" I could only stare, dumbfounded. "That makes no sense. How can knowledge hurt me?" Frustration turned my voice sharp. "Why can't I know what's going on with _me_?"

"Because it's not _safe_," he shot back without apology. "It's my job to look after you and that's what I'm going to do. Jeez, you looked like a damned zombie when I got here. You scared the crap out of me." His eyes narrowed to determined slits. "This is as close as you get, Anna. No way am I backing off."

It was a warning and he meant it. If I tried to get any closer, he'd stop me. Angry, he seemed even bigger. I looked up at the crest of the ridge ahead of me. It was only fifty feet away but it might as well have been miles. No matter how tempting it was to try, just as a point of principle, I could never outrun him. Jacob was half a foot taller and out-weighed me by about ninety pounds, most of it muscle.

So much for imprinting turning men into devoted slaves willing to do anything and everything to keep their imprintee happy. Leah was so wrong it was almost funny.

I tried anyway. "Jacob, it's not up to you. This is _my_ life."

I hit a nerve. If possible his expression turned even darker. "Yeah? That's where you're wrong. I've had it with standing by and watching, helpless to do anything, while the girl I love does something stupid and dangerous. It may be your life, but I'm not letting you toss it away. Never, ever again." He stepped closer to emphasise each word with his face like granite, eyes black with grim resolve. "You don't have a choice. I won't let you. If that bothers you, fine. At least you'll be _alive_ to not speak to me. "

I didn't know what to say. I couldn't fit the puzzle pieces together in my head. Jacob never hid his emotions, they were right there and powerful enough to make my skin prickle with unease. He truly believed he was protecting me from myself. I didn't get it. It was insane to think that walking over a ridge into another patch of land could kill me.

The seconds ticked by as I considered my options; which were non-existent. Finally, I threw up my hands, knowing I'd lost. "For heaven's sake, Jacob! What is in that crater that could _possibly_ be so dangerous to me?"

"Nothing. It's empty." Jacob closed the distance between us so fast I blinked in shock. He swept me up with an arm behind my back and the other under my knees, hefting me high up his chest. His arms were like iron bands. "Time to go."

The speed of the trip back left me dizzy and breathless. The tension between us was like a live wire, crackling edgily in the air. Neither of us spoke until he literally dumped me on the doorstep of his and Billy's home, leaving me in his father's care. Then all he said was, "I gotta go. We'll talk later." He was gone before I could open my mouth to reply. Seth came running up to the house just as Billy opened the door. Fantastic, I thought, disgruntled. My guards were in place.

~0~

Charlie Swan, ready for work in his police uniform, was sitting at the small round table. He pulled out a chair for me when I walked into the house. "Take a seat. The coffee's hot and the bagels are fresh."

Even I could tell my smile was wan. "Thanks, I am a little hungry." It wasn't strictly true. I sat because it was something to do. I picked up a bagel and started shredding it because it was something else to do. My head was still splitting and all I wanted to do was lie down and sort out the mess that was my brain. I didn't suggest it because it would be rude to Billy and Charlie, and because I felt guilty for distracting the packs at the worst possible time. Seth kept shooting me anxious glances, as if he was worried I had another crazy plan brewing.

How stupid did he think I was?

Billy rolled up to join us with a smile for me that managed to be admonishing, knowing and worried all at once. The guilt I'd been suffering ratcheted up a notch, right along with resentment. What was so bad about what I'd done? Surely it was natural to want to know your own past? Most people managed to have a memory older than two weeks and not gasp their last breath!

To distract myself I focused on Chief Swan. "So, how are you feeling?"

He froze in the middle of lifting his cup to his mouth. His expression turned hunted. "Uhm, fine. No, erm, after-affects, if that's what you mean." He patted his middle. "Good as new."

He'd misunderstood me and now we were both embarrassed. "Oh, right, yes, actually…I meant after your demon visit?"

He thought about it for a moment, and then pulled a face. "I've had better days. Hell, I've had better nightmares. Given a choice, I'd happily go back to being ignorant. Freakin demons. It's insane." He shook his head and went for another bagel.

The phone gave its shrill insistent ring and Billy went over to answer it, leaving just the two of us at the table with Seth sprawled on the couch watching the television.

It occurred to me that I was the source of all Charlie's woes. The fresh guilt had my headache pounding double-time. I squeezed my hands around the side of my head, trying to ease the pain. "I'm really sorry, Charlie. I had no idea."

He cast me a sideways frown. "What do you mean?"

"It's my fault you're on demon-radar now. The Jinn wanted to get to me through you."

He waved it off. "Don't sweat it. I'd rather be alive with problems than dead and problem-free."

He was so dry and laconic, I had to smile. "Good point. I take back the apology back."

"Can I ask you a question?" asked Charlie after a few seconds, being careful not to look at me as he said it.

"Sure. Shoot."

"Are you really a relative of the Cullens?"

I hadn't been expecting that question and I should have been. I dropped my hands and stared at him. Screw this, I wasn't going to lie. "No, Charlie, I'm not. Jacob made that up. I'm sorry you were deceived."

Charlie quirked a brow. "I see." He wasn't finished. "All right, so where _are_ you from? Who are your real family? Have you always been able to do….healing stuff?"

I smiled. "I thought you said 'a' question—as in single?"

He shrugged, brown eyes careful but direct. "I have a curious nature. It's a part of my job." I could see why he was good at that job too. He was ultra-low-key, but able to put on an air of authority that sat easily on his shoulders. He was a good man. I decided he deserved a full answer, no matter how pitifully inadequate.

"I wish I could answer your questions, but I can't. I have no memory before here." I waved to indicate La Push. "I don't even know my name. I just woke up in the forest one day with no idea who I was." I didn't mention the dream memories because it would complicate things too much. Plus, with only one exception, they were about Jacob, and not me.

"That sounds…unpleasant."

There was a kindness in his face that touched me. Tears pricked my eyes. "It was, but it got better after Jacob walked into your station."

"I remember. Any ideas what made him do it? Did he recognise you or something?"

"You'd have to ask him that question. I'm not free to say." Or willing to discuss it.

Charlie grimaced, discomforted. "Ah, got something to do with the wolf-thing, huh?"

He looked so thoroughly annoyed and put out, I had to laugh. "You know about that, do you?"

"Billy told me last night when I refused his invitation to move onto the reservation for a while. I didn't believe him until Jake did the deed right in front of me. Scared the pants off me, I can tell you." He took another sip of coffee. "And that's another thing I could do with not knowing, or forgetting real quick. I've known that kid all his life!" He sighed and slid me an apologetic glance. "I'm not real good with crazy stuff."

I stayed silent, thinking about how the accident had turned Charlie's world upside down.

"Not that I'm not grateful you fixed me up," Charlie said, accurately gauging my expression. He reached over to awkwardly pat my hand. "I'll get used to it."

He wanted a change of topic and I obliged. "I'm sure you will. So, you're staying here for now?"

"Yeah, I'm still doing my shifts, but I have to take one of the kids along with me." He shook his head in obvious disbelief that he needed the protection of a teenager. "That's going to take some explaining, I don't mind telling you."

Billy finished with his call then and returned to the table. The talk quickly turned to fishing. After several minutes of listening and making polite answers when one of the two men tried to include me in the conversation, I asked Billy if he minded if I took a shower. I felt more than a little grungy after my morning hike.

"Of course, I don't mind. Help yourself."

The shower was in the back of the tiny house and between the bedrooms. The sluggish flow of water was pathetic, but it was warm and the stall soon filled with steam. Refreshed despite having to put back on the same clothes, I got the fan working to clear the shower and closed the door. Jacob's room was on my right and the door was wide open. Wondering if he'd come in while I was in the shower, I craned my neck to see inside. The room was empty. Relieved, because I wasn't exactly looking forward to continuing our argument, I was about to walk away when something on the floor caught my eye. It was a hardback book and it was the title that made me freeze in place, '_Angelology: a study of angels_'.

I stared and stared with a buzzing in my ears that was getting louder with every passing second. It took several more seconds to realise it was because I'd forgotten to breathe. I looked away, and then looked back at the book. I wanted more than anything to walk inside, pick up that book and then sit down to read it. But, I was also terrified of reading it, and I had no idea why.

Just then I head the door slam and Billy greeted his son. Jacob was back. The book was instantly forgotten. I scrubbed my face to put some colour back into my cheeks and turned to walk into the living room.

The second I entered the room our gazes clashed. The time since he'd left might never have happened. It was as if we'd just got back from the crater. He was still scowling, his brows lowered over his eyes with his full lips narrowed into a grim line. Seth was nowhere in sight, so I assumed he'd been sent off to do other things.

Finally looking away from me, Jacob confirmed it. "I've sent Seth to school." He pulled off his jacket and tossed it onto an empty coat peg by the door.

"What about you, Jacob?" said Charlie, disapprovingly, at the same time sending a speaking look to Billy. "Shouldn't you be in school too?"

"I'm not going until this is finished."

Charlie frowned. "Getting a decent education is important, Jake."

"So's living," Jacob retorted, without heat.

Billy spoke up soothingly, "Don't worry about it, Charlie. Jake'll be fine, the Principal understands."

Charlie threw up his hands. "Fine. Whatever. I have to get to work. Who's my bodyguard for today?"

"Sam suggested Jared Cameron," said Jacob. "He's left school, so he's clear. He's waiting for you outside."

"Okay then. That's me gone for the day." Charlie grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair and nodded at Billy. "See you later. You know where to find me if something freaky happens."

With Charlie gone the room fell into an uncomfortable silence. I hadn't moved since first setting eyes on Jacob, preferring to remain on the far side of the room with my arms crossed. Jacob headed for the refrigerator, pulling it open with a little too much force to peruse the contents. Billy cleared his throat, "I've promised a visit to old Quil and maybe some fishing off my boat. I'll be gone for most of the day. Will you two be okay?"

Jacob didn't look round. "Sure, dad. Go and enjoy your day."

I wished he wasn't going, but said, "Have a good time, Billy. Relax, you deserve it."

In minutes, Billy was gone and it was just Jacob and I. Hating the turbulent atmosphere, I kept my gaze glued to the floor. The refrigerator door shut with an audible 'thump'. As far as I knew, he hadn't taken anything out of it.

I didn't know how to deal with my anger or his. I'd woken with the ability to communicate, eat and drink, tie shoelaces and brush my teeth, along with a million other things to do with living, but navigating emotions, particularly the darker ones, was missing from my mental menu. I was at a loss.

Jacob gusted out a sigh. "Look, I don't want to be tiptoeing around you all day. Can we just…get this over with and move on?"

I looked up. He still looked like a thundercloud, but I could see it was more defensiveness now. Oh, so that was how you dealt with anger, you talked about it! I felt a smile trying to curve my lips and suppressed it.

I kept my arms crossed. "Alright. You start."

TBC

**The next chapter will be back to Jacob's POV and will switch between the two of them more regularly.**

**As before, I can't message unsigned reviews, so I'd like to thank RJM here and now for the feedback on the last chapter. Thank you!**

**Please leave reviews because they are manna to the muse. All feedback received with deepest gratitude and virtual chocolate fudge brownies. Helen X**


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